The Sneak Kiss is a painting by the French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard in the late 1780s. The author depicted a spicy scene between two lovers. A pretty girl ran out of the hall for social events into the next room for a scarf. But before she knew it, she was hugged by an impatient boyfriend, hiding behind the balcony door.

The cavalier holds his beloved, squeezing her right hand with his palm, and tenderly touches his beloved’s face with his lips. The young lady is taken by surprise, so bewilderment is frozen on her face. She is not going to push the young man away, on the contrary, she clung to him, clearly enjoying the unexpected meeting. The artist convincingly conveyed the intriguing atmosphere of surprise and anxiety, as if he had photographed the moment of the “kidnapping” of the kiss.

Author: Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806).
Year of writing: 1787
Size: 45 x 55 cm.
Rococo.
Genre: Household scene.
Technique: Oil painting.
Material: Canvas.
Location: State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.

Jean-Honore Fragonard is a famous French painter of the 18th century.

The virtuoso master of “piquant” painting worked in the Rococo style and created cheerful, playful masterpieces, carefully considering the composition and using rich colors. The painting “The Secret Kiss” is executed in a handwriting not typical of Fragonard. He usually painted with swift relief strokes in the expressive manner that the Impressionists stood out a hundred years later. Because of this, the work of the master was often criticized by colleagues, calling them “sketchy” and unfinished.

The image of the meeting of lovers, on the contrary, surprises with clear lines, smooth, carefully worked out texture, realistic rendering of details and textures. Art critics suggest that in this way Fragonard tried to master a new, albeit completely alien style for himself – classicism, confidently gaining popularity in the society of that time.

In the work, you can find a reference to another style of painting – to the “Little Dutchmen” of the 17th century. Fragonard, inspired by the work of the Dutch masters, carefully painted the flowing silk of the ivory-colored dress, accurately conveyed to the canvas the pattern of the carpet on the floor and the airy transparency of the striped scarf.

The painting “The Sneak Kiss” by Jean-Honore Fragonard is the last romantic message to the viewer from the frivolous French artist of the 18th century

The artist also changed his favorite mood – instead of a frivolous and funny scene, we see a romantic plot with light elegiac notes. All these details (enamel surface, solid strokes, technique) pushed art connoisseurs to an active discussion about the authorship of the painting. Some researchers cautiously suggest that the painting was painted by Marguerite Gérard, Fragonard’s sister-in-law. Others admit that this is a joint work of the master and the student.

It is assumed that the canvas was created in 1787, but the exact date of writing is unknown. The first official mention of the work dates back to the summer of 1788, when Parisian magazines and newspapers published an advertisement for the sale of an etching by Nicolas Francois Regnault, made from The Kiss.

Then the masterpiece appeared in the collection of the Polish king Stanisław August Poniatowski in Lazienki Palace. The monarch treasured his acquisition very much – according to rumors, he experienced a similar love adventure with the future Empress of Russia Catherine the Great. The painting “The Sneak Kiss” by Jean-Honore Fragonard is now on display at the State Hermitage Museum in the Winter Palace. The canvas was taken to the museum in 1895, and the Polka was handed over to the Polish side as compensation by Jean Antoine Watteau.