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Sometimes, a perfume advertisement’s sources of inspiration are reworked in some way that makes them feel like hidden message waiting to be decoded. At other times, the source is identified right there on the page. In this ad for its fragrance Requête, published in 1947, the venerable house of Worth identified its chosen image with the words “d’après Fragonard.”
Which work by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) could it be?
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It’s one of Fragonard’s most famous paintings, a section of his room-size cycle The Progress of Love (dated 1771-72). This canvas, known as Love Letters or Souvenirs, is one of the later images in the sequence, depicting the lovers united in a moment of tender companionship as the woman reads the man’s love letter and the man whispers sweet nothings (…and, perhaps, inhales her perfume?).
The Progress of Love was commissioned Madame du Barry, the mistress of Louis XV, for her private home outside Paris. Art historians have studied this cycle in depth, including the significance of such details as the Cupid figure at the right (Eros!), the dog and the ivy at the base of the woman’s seat (symbols of fidelity), the cast-aside parasol, even the forms of the trees.
Even without reading up on the subject, a viewer (of the original work or the Worth advertisement) can easily sense the playfulness and delicacy of these figures and their idyllic, soon-to-vanish world.
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Unlike its intended original owner (who, ironically, rejected the paintings!), The Progress of Love survived the Revolution and made its way from owner to owner, from Paris to London to New York. Since 1916 it has belonged to The Frick Collection, where it is now installed in an especially designed room. (You can read a short article about the paintings here.)
If you happen to visit New York and you’re interested in eighteenth-century art and culture, The Progress of Love is something you shouldn’t miss. In the meantime, you can take a 360-degree “tour” of the Fragonard Room at the Frick’s website, here.
(Incidentally, Fragonard’s art hasn’t lost its appeal for the creators of perfume ads. Remember my post on Estée Lauder Pleasures?)
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Bonus: a vintage bottle of Requête. (Have you ever come across one of these? How did it smell?)
Images: Worth perfume ad via H-Prints; Fragonard, The Progress of Love details, via The Frick Collection; Requête perfume bottle via Live Auctioneers.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Image may be NSFW.Clik here to view.
