The Sermon of Love 

Jean-Honoré Fragonard made this painting, entitled ‘The Sermon of Love,’ using oil on canvas, sometime during his career as a painter in 18th century France. Fragonard was working in a society that had strict rules about love and relationships. Here we see a couple in an embrace, surrounded by the trappings of love: roses, cupids, and soft light. Their embrace has a desperate energy to it, as the woman throws her head back, and the man reaches toward the heavens. Are they trying to escape the gaze of the sculpture of the two embracing children in the background? Or do they long for the cherubic, carefree representation of love? Fragonard was known for capturing the frivolity of the French court. But here, the scene is imbued with a certain longing. Does it reflect the tension between societal expectations and the human desire for authentic connection? It certainly reflects the emotional weight of navigating love in a world of rules.