The Reader, commonly referred to as A Young Girl Reading is an oil painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Completed in 1776, this "Fragonard favorite" is currently on display at The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. On the surface, the painting seems to be a basic image of a girl with a book but in reality, it is nothing of the sort. In fact, The Reader provides its audience with a very important "snap shot" …showed first 75 words of 1090 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1090 total…like the society he painted as they were always on the move for the next diversion and the next entertainments. Such a pleasant rush of success could only sustain itself for so long and in the summer of 1806, at the age of 74, Fragonard died of a stroke while eating ice cream (www.artcyclopedia.com). Luxury made him, his joy in it and his skill at portraying it, and in the end, luxury killed him too.