The Supper at Emmaus 1760 - 1761

Editor: Here we have Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s “The Supper at Emmaus,” created around 1760, rendered in pencil and chalk on paper. There's something very raw about it, almost unfinished. It feels more like a fleeting impression than a fully realized composition. What strikes you when you look at it? Curator: It's fascinating how Fragonard, associated with Rococo frivolity, engages here with a deeply religious subject. The 'Supper at Emmaus' was often depicted as a moment of grand revelation. How does this sketch challenge or perhaps subvert that tradition, and the expectations of Rococo art in general? Editor: Subvert, how so? Curator: Look at the setting. It’s a domestic space, yet sketched with this quick hand and not really embellished. What do you observe about the role that images of the divine play in a time that is quickly adopting ideas around enlightenment and science? Editor: So you’re suggesting this raw quality might be a conscious choice? A more... relatable interpretation of the sacred? Away from, I don't know, elaborate churches? Curator: Precisely! It asks, perhaps, where can the sacred exist? Rococo became intertwined with the lavish aristocracy in France leading up to the revolution, Fragonard presents it with humility in these tense, early modern environments that seek both luxury and devotion. He frames a very intimate supper to depict an even more intimate scene where recognition of faith is being brought to light. It presents interesting cultural paradoxes doesn’t it? Editor: It certainly does. I came in thinking it was simply unfinished, but it's clearly speaking to much larger themes. Thank you! Curator: It's always rewarding when a sketch reveals as much as a finished piece, or even more. It’s a lens into Fragonard's world!