La Gimblette is one of the most famous paintings by the French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard and one of the most famous Rococo paintings. Like other paintings by Fragonard, such as The Swing, La Gimblette also has a frivolous component.
A Testament to the Ancien Régime in several versions According to auction sales catalogues and other sources, several versions of this painting existed. Three versions of La Gimblette can be traced back to the 18th century through contemporary auction catalogues. As two of these versions are now considered lost, it is not possible to determine with certainty which was the first, i.e., the original version.
The painting stands as a testament to the Ancien Régime, with a composition rich in symbolism that varies between versions and requires contextual interpretation.
Description The painting depicts a girl lying beneath a canopy in a voluminous bed, richly furnished with bed linen, playing with a dog. The subject of the painting is also known by the titles: Young girl in her bed, making her dog dance and Girl playing with a dog or Girl with dog.
The two protagonists – the girl and the dog – differ slightly in appearance and behaviour across the various versions of the painting; however, these differences significantly influence the interpretation of the scene. This is evident in the way the girl wears her clothes, whether she feeds the dog a gimblette, how she holds the animal, as well as in the dog's position and breed. In some versions, the dog resembles a spaniel, while in others it appears more like a pug or a poodle. In the Besenval version, the dog even resembles a poodle wearing a judge's wig, or the long ceremonial wig of a King's Counsel, which may be interpreted as a caricature. Edmond and Jules de Goncourt commented accordingly:
The dog plays a distinct role in the composition; however, this role varies between versions and must therefore be interpreted accordingly. In the Munich version, it additionally serves to obscure parts of the girl's body.Gabrielle Claerr Stamm: De Soleure à Paris : La saga de la famille de Besenval, seigneurs de Brunstatt, Riedisheim et Didenheim, Société d'Histoire du Sundgau, 2015, p. 147Alte Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung – Alte Pinakothek München: Jean-Honoré Fragonard – La Gimblette, website. Retrieved 28 February 2024
The best known four versions of La Gimblette It is unknown how many versions of La Gimblette Jean-Honoré Fragonard painted. There are no records of it. Neither is any of the versions in question signed by Fragonard. Over time, however, four versions of La Gimblette became particularly famous. These four paintings have been differentiated as follows:
The Walferdin version
It is named after the Walferdin Collection. It has been proven that there were two versions of La Gimblette in this collection. The dimensions of the first one, now called the Walferdin version, are: 35.0 cm x 40.5 cm. It has a provenance dating back to the 18th century.
This version was sold at auction at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris in 1880 in the sale of the Walferdin Collection, lot 62, for FRF 1,010. This version is considered lost. The second one is the one now known as the Munich version.Hôtel Drouot: Collection de feu M. Walferdin, Vente du 12 avril au 16 avril 1880, Paris, salles numéros 8 et 9. Commissaire-priseur: M. Escribe, Peintre-expert: M. Haro. Œuvres importantes de H. Fragonard [deux versions de La Gimblette de Jean-Honoré Fragonard, lot 61 et lot 62, p. 24]. Prix du lot 61: FRF 7,000 (Munich version). Prix du lot 62: FRF 1,010 (Walferdin version)
The Munich version It is named after its current location, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. The dimensions are: 89.0 cm x 70.0 cm. It has a provenance dating back to the 18th century.
This version was sold at auction at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris in 1880 in the sale of the Walferdin Collection, lot 61, for FRF 7,000. The buyer was none other than the expert in painting of the sale himself, Henri Haro (1855–1911). The painting was already traded on the art market before this auction, verifiably in the years 1795, 1839, 1847 and 1868. Over time, the painting changed owners several times. In 1977, the painting was owned by Jeannette Veil-Picard (1901–1996) before being bought by the HypoVereinsbank in the same year. It has since been made available to the Alte Pinakothek.Jean-Pierre Cuzin: Fragonard – Leben und Werk, Oeuvre-Katalog der Gemälde, Klinkhardt & Biermann, München, 1988, Nr. 282, Seite 315Gazette des Beaux-Arts – Courrier Européen de l’Art et de la Curiosité: La Collection Walferdin et ses Fragonard, vingt-deuxième année – deuxième période, tome vingt et unième, 8, Rue Favart, Paris, 1880, p. 308 [the article mentions only one version of La Gimblette in the collection. Judging by the description, the article is about the Munich version. However, the article speaks of a replica, but of a replica by Jean-Honoré Fragonard]
The Besenval version It is named after its former owner Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt. The dimensions are: 70.0 cm x 86.5 cm. It has a provenance dating back to the 18th century. This version is considered lost.
The Mühlbacher version
It is named after M. Georges Mühlbacher in whose collection the painting was at the beginning of the 20th century. The dimensions are: 72.4 cm x 91.0 cm. It has a provenance dating back to the early 20th century.
After the death of M. Georges Mühlbacher in 1906, the painting was sold at auction in Paris between 13 and 15 May 1907 by the Galerie Georges Petit, as part of the sale of the Mühlbacher Collection, lot 23, offered as painted by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, for FRF 31,500. The buyer was none other than one of the experts in painting of the sale himself, Marius Paulme (1863–1928). In the 1907 sales catalogue of the Galerie Georges Petit, the painting was described as follows:
A young woman lies upon a bed, half-naked, her blond hair covered by a muslin cap tied with a blue ribbon. Her head rests upon a large pillow; her legs are raised and half bent, and she holds a small white dog on the tips of her feet, offering it a gimblette. Pink curtains extend across the background to right and left. In the foreground, upon a blue stool, lies a skirt of yellow silk. Canvas, height, 72 cm; width, 90 cm. Old frame, in carved and gilded wood, from the Régence period.Galerie Georges Petit: Collection M. G. Mühlbacher, Vente du 13 mai au 15 mai 1907, 8, Rue de Sèze, Paris, à 2 heures. Tableaux, dessins, gouaches, aquarelles et objets d'art et d'ameublement. Commissaires-priseurs: M. Paul Chevallier et M. F. Lair-Dubreuil, Peintre-experts: M. Jules Féral et MM. Paulme & B. Lasquin Fils. La Gimblette, par Jean-Honoré Fragonard, lot 23, p. 23. Prix: FRF 31,500
The Mühlbacher version was sold at auction on 31 January 2024 by Christie's in New York, Old Master Sale, lot 67, for US$ 756,000. However, the Mühlbacher version was auctioned several times after 1907, including in 1969, 1975 and 2001, whereat the auction houses did not always identify the painting as a work by Fragonard or attribute it to him. At the auction in 2001, it was offered as French school of the 18th century, follower of Fragonard.Christie's: Jean-Honoré Fragonard – La Gimblette, New York, Old Master Sale, 31 January 2024, lot 67, sold for US$ 756,000 (mention of the detailed provenance in the auction catalogue of Christie's, which says that: After the auction in Paris in 1907, this painting was sold again at auctions in 1969 and 1975. In both of these auctions it was offered as attributed to Fragonard. And at another auction in 2001, it was offered as French school of the 18th century, follower of Fragonard)
The composition of this painting is known in three versions. In addition to the Mühlbacher version, there is also the Krämer version and the Cailleux version. In the Cailleux version the dog is black. The three versions are of uneven quality.Jean-Pierre Cuzin: Fragonard – Leben und Werk, Oeuvre-Katalog der Gemälde, Klinkhardt & Biermann, München, 1988, Nr. 283, Seite 315
Further versions The subject of the painting was very popular in the 18th and 19th century. It is therefore no surprise that the composition was imitated by many artists, including the engravers Augustin-Claude-Simon Legrand (1765–1815) and Niclas Lafrensen.
Many versions of La Gimblette were sold in the 19th and 20th centuries, painted by different artists. Some of these versions were also sold as works by Fragonard. Today, it is very difficult to tell them apart, as the descriptions in old sales catalogues were not always accurate and dimensions were often omitted. However, there are considerable differences in the quality of the various versions, which may also indicate whether a particular work was executed by a master.
The Besenval version and the different versions of its engraving
According to Luc-Vincent Thiéry's description in his guide on the city of Paris, published in 1787, the Baron de Besenval kept his version of La Gimblette in the boudoir in his house on the Rue de Grenelle, the Hôtel de Besenval, where he kept other paintings with similar motifs. After the baron's death in 1791, his heirs sold the entire contents of the Hôtel de Besenval at auction on 10 August 1795. The auctioneer, Alexandre Joseph Paillet, described the painting in the sales catalogue as follows:Luc-Vincent Thiéry: Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageurs à Paris, ou Description raisonnée de cette Ville, de sa Banlieue, et de tout ce qu'elles contiennent de remarquable, tome II, chapitre 'Hôtel de M. le Baron de Besenval,' Libraire Hardouin & Gattey, Paris, 1787, p. 578
Honoré Fragonard: A young girl is represented lying upon her back in a bed richly furnished, diverting herself with a pretty spaniel, to whom she offers a gimblette. This agreeable and tasteful composition is distinguished by a touching lightness of execution; it was engraved under the title « La Gimblette ». H. 26 in. wide. 32.T.A. J. Paillet (commissaire-priseur): Catalogue de tableaux précieux, dessins, gouaches et miniatures, etc. (de M. de Besenval), de l'imprimerie du Journal de Paris, rue J. J. Rousseau, n° 14. Vente aux enchères, avec un total de 222 lots, rue de l'Université, n° 905, entre la rue de Beaune & celle des St.-Pères, Paris, le 23 Thermidor, an 3e (10 août 1795), chapitre "Tableaux – École Françoise," lot 77, p. 15
This painting is considered lost. However, there is an engraving based on the Besenval version of the painting, executed by Charles Bertony in 1783 and dedicated to the Baron de Besenval.Jean-Jacques de Dardel: L'hôtel de Besenval – siège de l'ambassade de Suisse en France, Labor et Fides, Genève, 2013, p. 53Jean-Jacques Fiechter: Le Baron Pierre-Victor de Besenval, Delachaux et Niestlé, Lausanne – Paris, 1993, p. 100
It is possible that the Baron de Besenval bought La Gimblette from Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Lebrun. Lebrun is known to have traded paintings by Jean-Honoré Fragonard and the baron was one of his best customers. However, the baron could also have bought the painting directly from Jean-Honoré Fragonard, whom he knew personally.Paul Gallois: Baron de Besenval's eclectic eye, The Furniture History Society, London, Newsletter 221, February 2021, p. 5