The Fragonard Room, one of the Frick Collection's most remarkable and signature galleries, has reopened following a temporary closure for renovation. It was the first major refurbishment done to the room since its opening in 1947, and the changes include a new, innovative lighting system, ultra-violet protected windows, and a new never-before-seen sculpture by Houdon. The Fragonard Room, named after the famous French rococo painter Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806), contains his masterpiece series, "The Progress of Love," a cluster of exquisite paintings created for Louis XV's beautiful mistress, Madame du Barry.

The Fragonard Room's previous lighting system dated back nearly sixty years, and emitted an uneven distribution of light. The new system employs low-voltage halogen reflectors to produce a soft light and provide better color rendering for each painting. For sculptures and artifacts, the room makes use of fiber-optic fixtures, placed strategically to provide subtle accents for the three-dimensional objects. In addition, a control panel will allow for necessary lighting adjustments to compensate for the shifting of natural light during seasonal changes. Finally, ultraviolet-protected windows have been installed, and the Room's wood paneling has received an 18th-century-inspired faux finish, evoking the period during which Fragonard lived.

Along with the collection of Fragonard's art, visitors to the room will be able to view, for the first time, a plaster two-foot-tall statuette of Diana the Huntress, by Neoclassical sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon (1741-1828), designed for Duke Ernst II of Saxe-Gotha in the 1770s (a reduction of a life-sized plaster also designed by Houdon for the Duke). Although many copies of the sculpture were made, this statue bears the wax seal of Houdon's atelier, indicating it was made in the sculptor's studio.

The Frick Collection is located on the Upper East Side at 1 E. 70th St. at Fifth Ave., 212-288-0700; www.frick.org.