LE GUERRIER, par Jean~Honoré Fragonard, 1769, 81 x 64 cm

The dazzling brilliance of Fragonard's technique enhances the dramatic physical presence of Le Guerrier. Rich paint has been applied with speed, yet with control: a dash of white here, a slash of yellow there, as for example in the square patches that highlight the tip of the nose and the joints of the fingers. The painting is not so much a portrait of an individual as it is a whimsical evocation of a type—in this case, a man dressing the part of a soldier.