Le Verrou

Maurice Blot after Jean-Honoré Fragonard

National Gallery of Art

This print displays two individuals in a room. A man is on the left, facing away from us. In his right hand, he holds a woman by the waist, and his left hand is flung upward, positioned near a latch on a large door. He wears a white shirt, knee-length breeches, and is barefoot, his heels raised off the ground as if he is dancing. He has pale skin and curly brown hair. The woman is grabbing his shoulder, her head flung back. She appears to be coming down from a large bed on the right of the print, and one of her feet is on the floor while the other is raised in the air. She wears a garment with long, draped skirts, and some of them still lie on the bed. She has pale skin and light, curly hair. The bed on the right is unmade, with blankets draped across it and a large dent in the pillow. Heavy fabric hangs down around the bed. In the bottom right corner is a small table draped with fabric, with an overturned pitcher and small round object, perhaps an apple, resting on it. To the left of the table, a cushioned chair has been knocked on its side, with a short, dark dress draped over it. In the bottom left corner, small flowers lay on the floor near a cushioned footrest. The door and wall are dark gray. A bright beam of light is illuminating the embracing couple and the latched door behind them, with the rest of the room in shadow.