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The Big Happy Family

Original Language TitleL'Heureuse Fecondité
Artist Nicolas De Launay (French, 1739 - 1792)
Artist After Jean Honoré Fragonard (French, 1732 - 1806)
Date1777
MediumEngraving with etching; second impression
DimensionsImage: 10 7/16 × 11 11/16 inches (26.51 × 29.69 cm)
Sheet: 11 3/8 × 12 7/8 inches (28.89 × 32.7 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Bloch
Object numberR86-8
Signedl.l.: "Peint par Fragonard peintre du roi" l.r.: "et gravé N de Launay graveur du roi"
On View
Not on view
Collections
DescriptionCenter, profile of seated mother holding child; lower left child petting dog; center left, child on ledge behind; lower right, child leaning against mother's proper right leg; center right, open window with youth, and donkey leaning in from outside, eating straw. In horizontal oval frame with foliate decoration, top coat of arms; bottom center, title and five lines of text on each side.Exhibition History

[No known exhibitions at this time]

Provenance

With Robert L. (b. 1952) and Barbara E. (née Klugman, b. 1958) Bloch, Shawnee Mission, KS, by January 1, 1986;

Given by Robert L. and Barbara E. Bloch to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1986.

Published References

Roger Portalis and Henri Béraldi, Les graveurs du dix-huitième siècle, vol. 2 (Paris: Damascène Morgand et Charles Fatout, 1882), no. 15, pp. 541, 544, 546, as by Nicolas de Launay, as after Fragonard, as L’Heureuse fécondité.

H.W. Lawrence and B.L. Dighton, French Line Engravings of the XVIII Century (London: Lawrence and Jellicoe, 1910), no. 91 V/V, pp. 40, 59, 74, as L’Heureuse fécondité.

George L. McKenna, Prints, 1460-1995 (Kansas City, MO: Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 1996), 289, (repro.), as L’Heureuse Fecondité.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.


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