Artwork
A Game of Hot Cockles
A Game of Hot Cockles is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Jean Honoré Fragonard. It dates from 1778 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Technique & Style
Jean-Honoré Fragonard's A Game of Hot Cockles, executed in 1777, is an oil painting on canvas support.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard's A Game of Hot Cockles, executed in 1777, is an oil painting on canvas support. The work measures 115.5 cm in height and 91.5 cm in width. As a Rococo composition, the medium allows for the fluid brushwork and vibrant coloration characteristic of the artist's mature style, depicting a lively clapping game scene.
The painting has remained in stable condition since its creation, facilitating its long history of exhibition and ownership, including its time in the collection of Calouste Gulbenkian before entering the National Gallery of Art.
History & Provenance
Painted in 1777, the work is dated by internal records and aligns with Fragonard’s mid-career style during the late 1770s. The earliest verifiable link is its inclusion in the 1864 Pereire collection in Paris, documented in a contemporary gazette. By March 1872 it appeared in the Pereire sale in Paris, where Frédéric-Alexis-Louis Pillet-Will acquired it.
It remained in Parisian ownership through at least 1910, when Pillet-Will lent it to an exhibition in Berlin. By 1932 the painting was handled by Wildenstein & Co. in Paris, London, and New York, and by 1942 had passed to Calouste Gulbenkian. Wildenstein reacquired it from Gulbenkian and, in 1942, sold it to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which gifted it to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in 1946.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard's A Game of Hot Cockles is held in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it is part of the Samuel H. Kress Collection. The work entered the museum's holdings in 1946 as a gift from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, following its acquisition by the foundation in 1942 from Wildenstein & Co., which had previously purchased it from Calouste Gulbenkian.
Prior to its arrival in the United States, the painting was lent to an exhibition in Berlin in 1910 while in the possession of the comte Pillet-Will. It was subsequently lent to a London exhibition in 1932 by Wildenstein & Co. before its transfer to the Kress Foundation.
Overview
Jean Honoré Fragonard's oil painting, A Game of Hot Cockles, created around 1778, captures a lively social scene. The canvas depicts a group of individuals engaged in a popular clapping game of the era. Fragonard employs a dynamic composition to convey the energy and movement of the participants, whose elegant attire suggests a setting within a prosperous household.
Subject & Meaning
The painting illustrates "Hot Cockles," a common parlor game enjoyed during the 18th century. In the scene, one woman claps while surrounded by others who observe and share in the amusement. The participants' elaborate clothing indicates a gathering among the affluent, highlighting the leisure activities prevalent within wealthy society of the period. The work offers a glimpse into the social pastimes of the French aristocracy or bourgeoisie.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was born on 5 April 1732 in Grasse, the son of a glover, and moved with his family to Paris in 1738.
