The Bolt (Fragonard)
Jean-Honoré Fragonard · c. 1777
The story
The Bolt (French: Le Verrou), also known as The Lock, is a galant scene painted by Jean-Honoré Fragonard in 1777. It is one of the most famous paintings by the painter. The scene depicts a man and a woman entwined in a bedroom, the man reaching to the lock on the door. One interpretation suggests the scene shows two lovers embracing in a bedroom, with the man sliding the door bolt shut. Another interpretation posits that the scene depicts a rape, with the woman attempting to break free from the man's grasp as he locks the door to have his way with her.
The painting is preserved in the Louvre Museum, in the section of the Department of Paintings devoted to eighteenth-century French painting. This painting, a symbol of the libertine spirit of the 18th century, reflects the state of mind adopted by the painters of the era, notably that of François Boucher, one of Fragonard's teachers and a great representative of rococo painting.
- Artist
- Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- Date
- c. 1777
- Collection
- Louvre, Paris, France
- Movement
- Rococo
- Medium
- oil paint, canvas
- Size
- 73.5 × 93.5 cm
Story adapted from the Wikipedia article and its contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Facts from Wikidata (CC0). Image: Public domain, Wikimedia Commons.
Explore paintings by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Explore related paintings
- A Young Girl Reading by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- The Stolen Kiss (painting) by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
- An Old Man and his Grandson by Domenico Ghirlandaio
- Bacchus (Leonardo) by Francesco Melzi
- Bonaparte at the Pont d'Arcole by Antoine-Jean Gros
Guess famous paintings in the free daily art puzzle →
Enable JavaScript to play the interactive puzzle. Your progress stays on this device.