Jean Honore Fragonard is a bright representative of the French Rococo, whose work reflected the pampered culture of the time. “The Latch” is one of the artist’s canvases dedicated to the love pleasures of the gallant era. Amorousness and romance were in vogue at court, often making up the lifestyle of its idle representatives.

The plot is simple and clear. A zealous lover seeks to push the latch, closing with his chosen one in a room with a huge luxurious bed. The charmer, again in fashion and according to the unwritten rules of love etiquette, pretends to stop him, as if taking care of morality, but with her whole appearance she shows that extreme degree of love languor, from which an impatient young man is ready to go crazy – and even forget about the unlatched latch.