Julie, the lovestruck woman in a painting, who inspired an arthouse hit

The Souvenir and The Goldfinch, both based on celebrated artworks, are set to pique a revival of interest in the originals

She is the young heroine of a romantic novel that once rocked the whole of France and she is also the star of a charming portrait housed at London’s Wallace Collection. Now, thanks to an art-house hit – a film delighting critics and winning five-star reviews – the spotlight has swung once again on to Julie D’Etange, the enigmatic subject of Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s little painting The Souvenir.

His picture shows a young woman in a luxurious pink satin dress carving her lover’s initials into a tree, in a scene drawn from Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s 1761 book Julie. Written in letter form, the story charts the path of her illicit love for Saint-Preux, a former lover and tutor, reintroduced into her life by her unsuspecting husband.

Related: The Souvenir review – Joanna Hogg back on form with sly, disconcerting drama

Continue reading...