The Musée Fragonard acquires two Mallet

20/7/23 - Acquisitions - Grasse, Musée Fragonard - The subject of these two compositions is almost identical: in both cases, a young woman - one in white, the other nude - prepares to receive a man - one standing, dashing and undoubtedly legitimate, the other bedridden and probably libidinous. These paintings by Jean-Baptiste Mallet were part of the Talabardon et Gautier sale organized by Ader on March 21 (see brève du 11/1/23); they were acquired by the Musée Fragonard, which not only owns some thirty works by this artist, gouaches and paintings, but also brought him out of oblivion by devoting an exhibition to him last summer, curated by Carole Blumenfeld (see l’article).

1. Jean-Baptiste Mallet (1759-1835)
La toilette de la fiancée, 1815
Oil on canvas - 32.7 x 40.5 cm
Grasse, Fragonard Museum
Photo: Ader

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Although they have different sizes, the two compositions are organized around a similarly arranged group of three women: the bride stands; next to her, an older woman seems to be giving her advice, while a servant, kneeling, washes her feet or undresses her. They stand in a room lit from the left by a stained-glass window, creating a play of light and shadow that highlights the sensuality of the flesh and the whiteness of the dress.
The attitude of the two main characters, however, is in stark contrast: the completely nude woman, presented from the front and open to the viewer’s gaze, lowers her eyes with modesty, while the bride, dressed all in white, is presented from the back, but turns towards the viewer to address him with a gaze that is anything but virginal. The boldness of this look is reinforced by the astonishing motif of the ribbon untied on the floor: this woman is undressing, and the evocation of this action seems more provocative than the representation of a female nude in its simple beauty. This nude, derived from the Venus de Medici, was also declined by Mallet in a wide variety of interiors.