What’s going on in Fragonard’s painting The Swing?
Instruction: What’s going on in Fragonard’s painting The Swing? Describe the subject matter and mood. How does this image depart from the type of subject matter and
What’s going on in Fragonard’s painting The Swing?
What’s going on in Fragonard’s painting The Swing?
Describe the subject matter and mood.
How does this image depart from the type of subject matter and stylistic characteristics we have seen in earlier artistic movements such as the Renaissance and Baroque?
More Details:
| The Swing depicts a young man – concealed in the foliage – who is watching a young woman on a swing. (At the time, a swing was a conventional symbol for infidelity.) She is being pushed by an elderly man in the background who has no idea of the young man’s presence.
At first glance, the picture appears to be a simple image of an innocent young woman at play, but then it becomes clear that the picture is deliberately risque and rather rascally. Because as the lady rides higher and higher on the swing, she allows her admirer to see up her dress – and even kicks her legs apart for his benefit. As she does so, she sends one of her shoes soaring towards a winged figure that could easily represent Cupid, the Roman god of desire and erotic love. Other instances of symbolism are also worth noting. In the foreground (right), a tiny lapdog – a symbol of faithfulness – sounds the alarm by barking, but the woman’s husband takes no notice. On the left, Cupid raises a finger to his lips to prevent the two Venus-putti beneath the swing from giving the game away, while the outstretched left arm of the young man (the Baron) has an obvious, phallic significance. The joyful exuberance of the painting is accentuate d by the way that the frills of the girl’s dress match the pattern of the surrounding foliage, as well as by its glowing pastel colours and soft lighting. |