The painter Honoré Fragonard lives in a sort of beehive surrounded by attractive female models, of which Marianne, his mistress and muse, is the queen. Around her, these young ladies are constantly arguing about which of them will be the next to pose for Honoré. The routine breaks down when one of the young women suddenly dies. Her corpse is then dissected by Cyprien Fragonard under the eyes of his cousin Honoré, who paints the execution of the operation. Marianne, fascinated by this morbid spectacle, also watches.