Fragonard’s The Progress of Love: A Rococo Tale of Passion and Rejection

Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s The Progress of Love is one of the most poignant visual narratives of romance in art history. Commissioned in 1771 by Madame du Barry, the last mistress of Louis XV, the series was meant to adorn a pleasure pavilion designed by architect Claude-Nicolas Ledoux. Fragonard created four large canvases, each portraying a stage of love—from playful courtship to lasting union.

The story begins with a flirtatious gesture, followed by a secret rendezvous, a celebration of love, and finally, quiet intimacy. Yet, despite their charm and masterful execution, the paintings were returned to the artist. Possibly too Rococo for Ledoux’s neoclassical interiors—or perhaps too suggestive of Louis XV himself—the series was replaced by a cooler aesthetic.

Fragonard held onto the works for two decades before expanding the series with additional canvases and installing them in a relative’s villa in southern France. Today, The Progress of Love stands as a testament to Fragonard’s brilliance—and the changing tastes of a dying monarchy.