Marguerite Gérard and Fragonard at the Getty Museum

The J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles has acquired a painting jointly created by Marguerite Gérard and Jean-Honoré Fragonard, titled "Je m’occupais de vous" (I was taking care of you). Long thought lost, the work was rediscovered by art historian Carole Blumenfeld during her research on the two artists and was publicly shown in Ajaccio in summer 2007 at the exhibition "Le cardinal Fesch et l’art de son temps." After returning to a private collection, it has now entered the Getty Museum's holdings.

This acquisition is significant because it brings to a major American museum a rare collaborative work from the late 18th century that had been considered lost for decades. The painting not only sheds light on the artistic partnership between Gérard and Fragonard but also underscores the role of scholarly research—here by Carole Blumenfeld—in recovering important artworks. Its placement at the Getty enhances the museum's collection of French old master paintings and offers new opportunities for public and academic engagement with a historically complex piece.