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Art Appreciation of “The Swing”
The Swing, created in 1766, is Fragonard’s most famous representative work.
The work depicts an aristocratic couple playing in a dense jungle. The young lady was swinging, her eyes were full of provocation. She deliberately kicked her shoes into the woods, causing the young men to look around in a hurry. Instead, she laughed unrestrainedly. Although the taste of the work is frivolous and vulgar, it is in line with the taste of the nobility at that time. Regardless of the theme and form, it reflects the typical Rococo style.
Creative background
Fragonard’s teacher Boucher was the favorite painter of Madame de Pompadour, Louis XV’s mistress, and Fragonard wanted to take refuge with Madame Barry, Louis XV’s favorite. Mrs. Barry had commissioned the painter, whom she called Little Fragon, to paint a group of paintings, probably titled “The Sublimation of Love in a Girl’s Heart”, because the title and image creation in it offended the Bippong Lady Pardour fell out of favor with the more beautiful Lady Barry, and this Swing is a related one.
Art appreciation
One of his representative works, “The Swing”, skillfully uses the changes of light and shade, and depicts the beauty of the courtyard and the woods with slender brushwork, which is very delicate. Its slender lines have a kind of morbid charm, and the colors are elegant. In this expression, Fragonard is a gifted artist, but his subject matter is slightly less serious.
The young aristocrat looking at the lady playing the swing from the bottom up may not have been criticized at the time, but today, it seems rather frivolous and frivolous. In this regard, it can only be considered that Fragonard caters to the frivolous style of the nobles.
The painting is depicted in a quiet forest. A girl accidentally drops a high heel while swinging on a swing, and a swinger who is hiding and peeking rushes to pick up the dropped shoe in order to be courteous. According to research, the prodigal is banker Joe. Lyon, this is a vulgar and boring plot, inheriting the painting tradition of his teacher Boucher’s “devotion to the lady”. The coexistence of beautiful nature and vulgar characters in this painting reflects the characteristics of the painter himself.
If Huaduo is a good Rococo painter, then we have to say that Fragonard has a Rococo vibe. It is because of this that he should be said to be the most Rococo. In short, both Boucher and Fragonard fully express the life, feelings and tastes of the aristocrats and ladies of the Louis Dynasty, who love to play and play.
Later influence
Its style became a stylistic reference for Disney’s animated “Tangled” in 2010, and the 2013 animated Frozen appeared on the walls of Arendelle’s palace.
About the Author
Jean Honore Fragonard (1732-1806), French Rococo painter. Born in Grasse on April 5, 1732, died in Paris on August 22, 1806. Fragonard became the darling of the times by depicting female beauty, and was a painter who opened the prelude to the heyday of Rococo. Fragonard is a gifted artist, but his subject matter is slightly less serious. In this regard, it can only be considered that Fragonard caters to the frivolous style of the nobles.
In 1765 he exhibited “Coresus and Callirrhoe” at the Salon, making him a master of contemporary history painting. After 1767, he no longer participated in the Salon exhibition. Since then, in order to cater to the interests of private customers, most of his works are mainly flirtatious pictures, pastoral landscapes and decorative paintings, and are famous for this. His works are now scattered in France. , in major museums in the United States.
