Marguerite Gérard

January 28, 1761 – May 18, 1837

Active in: France

Biography

Marguerite Gérard’s career is linked to that of renowned Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. In 1775, Gérard’s mother died, and she moved in with her sister, Marie-Anne, a miniature painter who was married to Fragonard. Gérard quickly became a member of Fragonard’s studio. By the 1780s, she and Fragonard had developed a collaborative process to create genre scenes. Gérard’s first Salon exhibition was in 1799, and she exhibited regularly until 1824. She died in Paris in 1837.

Selected Works

A group of four light-skinned people are seated around a table looking out at the viewer. A young boy with reddish hair and a gray jacket stands next to a woman in a green striped dress with an ornate top hat on her white hair. On the other side of the table, a man with gray hair curled over his ears holds a pen in one hand and a young child with reddish hair on his lap with the other.

Marguerite Gérard, An Architect and his Family, ca. 1787–90. Oil on wood panel, 30.5 x 24.1 cm. Baltimore Museum of Art

A man and a woman stand at the center of a room, with the man holding the woman's arm. the man has gray hair, light skin with rosy cheeks, and a long green coat over a white waistcoat with a high collar, and he is looking down and away from the woman next to him. The woman has very light skin, dark curly hair pulled away from her face, and wears a short-sleeved black and pink dress. On the other side of the man, a young boy in a green coat is holding a white and brown spotted hunting dog by the leash.

Marguerite Gérard, Family Group, ca. 1810-20. Oil on canvas, 81.3 x 64.8 cm. Baltimore Museum of Art

Two women sit on opposite sides of a table draped with cloth. The woman on the nearer side of the table has light skin, light brown or blonde hair, and is wearing a long-sleeved white dress, and she is holding an infant in her arms as it reaches for her face. On the opposite side of the table, the other young woman leans forward with her arms crossed over her chest, elbows on the table. She has light skin, dark curly hair, and wears a light-colored short sleeved dress.

Marguerite Gérard, Motherhood, ca. 1795–1800. Oil on canvas, 61 x 50.8 cm. Baltimore Museum of Art

A man and a woman are shown together at a desk. The woman has light skin, dark hair, and wears a white dress and bow headpiece as she sits at the desk turning the page of a large book, with her head turned to look away from the desk. Behind her, a man with light skin, gray hair with a widow's peak, and a gray coat over a yellow waistcoat leans against the back of the chair on one arm, the other resting on his hip.

Marguerite Gérard, Portrait of a Couple, ca. 1792. Oil on panel, 41.3 x 32.7 cm. Muscarelle Museum of Art, 2016.002

An infant child with pale skin and blonde curls is seated in a small red sled or cart with gold trim, filled with cushions, blankets, and pink cut flowers. A young woman with very light skin, medium brown curly hair, and a long white dress looks back over her shoulder and holds a pink or red cloth to pull the cart along. Behind the cart, another light-skinned woman wearing white appears to be pushing the cart from behind. Two white dogs run alongside.

Marguerite Gérard, The Beloved Child, ca. 1790. Oil on canvas, 60.32 x 73.02 cm. Hillwood Estate

A woman with light skin, dark curly hair, and a serious expression is seated on a red couch holding a piece of white cloth. She is wearing a pale blue dress with white sleeves and a large hat decorated with a bow and a feather.

Marguerite Gérard, Young Woman Embroidering, ca, 1815–20. Oil on canvas, 60 x 49.5 cm. Baltimore Museum of Art

A young woman with light skin, blonde curly hair under a white cap, and a shiny blue dress is seated next to a table holding a guitar-like instrument and looking at the young man standing near her. He has light skin, brown curly hair, and a red fur-trimmed cloak over his blue jacket, and looks back at the seated woman. Another young woman with blonde hair stands behind the table looking on, and a young child in a white dress wiht a blue sash looks down toward her own feet.

Marguerite Gérard, The Hussar and his Family, ca. 1800. Oil on canvas, 59 x 49 cm. Denver Art Museum, 2001.309

Continue Exploring

View artist timeline
Selected works

Circle

Student of
Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Bibliography

Ananoff, Alexandre. “Propos sur les peintures de Marguerite Gérard.” Gazette des Beaux-Arts (1979): 211–18.

Blumenfeld, Carole. “Marguerite Gérard et ses portraits de société.” In Marguerite Gérard: Artiste en 1789, dans l’atelier de Fragonard. Edited by Jose Louise de los Llanos and Carole Blumenfeld. Paris: Paris Musées, 2009.

Chapman, Caroline. Eighteenth-Century Women Artists: Their Trials, Tribulations, and Triumphs. London: Unicorn, 2017.

Cuzin, J. P. Jean-Honoré Fragonard: Life and Work: Complete Catalogue of the Oil Paintings. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988.

Doin, J. “Marguerite Gérard.” Gazette des beaux-arts (1912): 429–30.

Duncan, Carol. “Happy Mothers and Other New Ideas in French Art.” The Art Bulletin 55, no. 4 (1973): 570–83.

Fine, Elsa Honig. Women & Art: A History of Women Painters and Sculptors from the Renaissance to the 20th Century. London: Allanheld & Schram, 1978.

French Painting, 1774–1830: The Age of Revolution. Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1975.

Heller, Nancy G. Women Artists: An Illustrated History. New York and London: Abbeville, 2003.

Hoisington, Rena M., and Perrin Stein. “Sous les Yeux de Fragonard: The Prints of Marguerite Gérard.” Print Quarterly 29, no. 2 (2012): 142–62.

Levitine, George. “Marguerite Gérard and her Stylistic Significance.” Baltimore Museum of Art Annual 3 (1968): 21–31.

Llanos, Jose Louise de los, and Carol Blumenfield. Marguerite Gérard: artiste en 1789, dans l’atelier de Fragonard. Paris: Paris Musées, 2009.

Pomeroy, Jordana, et al. An Imperial Collection: Women Artists from the State Hermitage Museum. Washington, DC: National Museum of Women in the Arts, 2003.

Robertson, Sally Wells. “Gérard, Marguerite.” Oxford Art, Grove Dictionary. www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao/9781884446054.001.0001/oao9781884446054-e-7000031475?rskey=57lI99&result=1

Robertson, Sally Wells. “Marguerite Gérard.” In French Painting 1774–1830: The Age of Revolution, 440–41. Detroit: Detroit Institute of Arts, 1975.

Robertson, Sally Wells. Marguerite Gérard, 1761–1837. PhD Dissertation, New York University, 1978.

Rosenberg, Pierre. Fragonard. Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux and New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987–88.

Royalists to Romantics: Women Artists from the Louvre, Versailles, and Other French National Collections. Washington, DC: National Museum of Women in the Arts, 2012.

Sheriff, Mary D. “Gérard, Marguerite.” In Dictionary of Women Artists. Edited by Delia Gaze. Chicago and London: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997.

Sherriff, Mary D. “Marguerite Gérard.” SIEFAR (Société Internationale Pour L’Etude des Femmes de l’Ancien Régime). http://siefar.org/dictionnaire/en/Marguerite_G%C3%A9rard.

Weidemann, Christianne, Petra Larass, and Melanie Klier. 50 Women Artists You Should Know. Munich: Prestel, 2016.

Zanella, A. Trois femmes peintres dans la siècle de Fragonard. Grasse: Musée In. Parfumerie, 1998.

Entry Notes

Contributions to timeline and bibliography provided by Indiana University A300 student Jasmine Shah