Leroy Neiman • Sketchbook •

Francois Boucher (1703--1770) and Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732--1806) provocatively embellished the lusty atmosphere of 18th Century France with what may be the first examples of cheesecake. Until the French Revolution put an end to the Rococo era, the prevailing style at the French court was sophisticated (though lacking individuality) and frilly, due to the influence of women's tastes within the royal circle. In that atmosphere, Boucher and Fragonard distinguished themselves as masters with a passion for painting the nude. Boucher was first to paint scenes of erotic love affairs among the gods for private palace apartments. Fragonard followed by painting the pleasures of sex in delicious boudoir scenes with titles such as The Kiss on the Neck, The Useless Resistance and The Desired Moment. The nude nymphs of Boucher and Fragonard are coy, naughty, sensuous and exuberant, with dimpled, pinchable derrières and soft, rose-petal-pink flesh. These pastel sketches, drawn from various works of the two great masters, are my way of paying homage to them.