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The Swing (painting)
Encyclopedia
The Swing also known as The Happy Accidents of the Swing , is an 18th century oil painting
by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
. It is considered as one of the masterpieces of the rococo
era.
, being pushed by her husband. Her husband is hidden in the shadow, as he is unaware of the affair. (The Baron had requested a portrait of his mistress seated on a swing being pushed by a bishop, which Fragonard later replaced with a smiling husband.) As the lady goes high on the swing, she lets the young man take a furtive peep under her dress, all while flicking her own shoe off in the direction of a Cupid and turning her back to two angelic cherubim on the side of her clueless husband.
The lady is wearing a Bergère hat
(shepherdess hat) which is ironic since shepherds are normally associated with virtue because of their living close to nature, uncorrupted by the temptations of the city.
According to Charles Collé
's memoirs, a young nobleman asked first Gabriel François Doyen
to make this painting of him and his mistress. Not comfortable with this frivolous work, Doyen refused and passed on the commission to Fragonard.
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the Ancien Régime, Fragonard produced more than 550 paintings , of which only five...
. It is considered as one of the masterpieces of the rococo
Rococo
Rococo , also referred to as "Late Baroque", is an 18th-century style which developed as Baroque artists gave up their symmetry and became increasingly ornate, florid, and playful...
era.
The painting
The painting depicts a young man hidden in the bushes, watching a woman on a swingSwing (seat)
A swing is a hanging seat, usually found at playgrounds for children, a circus for acrobats, or on a porch for relaxing. The seat of a swing may be suspended from chains or ropes. Once a swing is in motion it continues to oscillate like a pendulum until external interference or drag brings it to a...
, being pushed by her husband. Her husband is hidden in the shadow, as he is unaware of the affair. (The Baron had requested a portrait of his mistress seated on a swing being pushed by a bishop, which Fragonard later replaced with a smiling husband.) As the lady goes high on the swing, she lets the young man take a furtive peep under her dress, all while flicking her own shoe off in the direction of a Cupid and turning her back to two angelic cherubim on the side of her clueless husband.
The lady is wearing a Bergère hat
Bergère hat
A bergère hat is a flat-brimmed straw hat with a shallow crown, usually trimmed with ribbon and flowers. It could be worn in various ways with the brim folded back or turned up or down at whim....
(shepherdess hat) which is ironic since shepherds are normally associated with virtue because of their living close to nature, uncorrupted by the temptations of the city.
According to Charles Collé
Charles Collé
Charles Collé was a French dramatist and songwriter.The son of a notary, he was born in Paris. He became interested in the rhymes of Jean Heguanier, the most famous writer of couplets in Paris. From a notary's office, Collé was transferred to that of the receiver-general of finance, where he...
's memoirs, a young nobleman asked first Gabriel François Doyen
Gabriel François Doyen
Gabriel François Doyen was a French painter, who was born at Paris.His passion for art prevailed over his father's wish, and he became in his twelfth year a pupil of Charles-André van Loo. Making rapid progress, he obtained at twenty the Grand Prix de Rome, and in 1748 set out for Rome...
to make this painting of him and his mistress. Not comfortable with this frivolous work, Doyen refused and passed on the commission to Fragonard.
Replicas
Fragonard has made several versions of this painting, albeit not quite identical. Virgile Josz, in his book "Fragonard: mœurs du XVIIIe siècle" (1901), mentions three replicas:- the original, formerly owned by baron Bollioud de Saint-Julien, was sold at his death, in 1788, to the Duke of MornyCharles Auguste Louis Joseph, duc de MornyCharles Auguste Louis Joseph Demorny/de Morny, 1st Duc de Morny was a French statesman...
. It was later purchased by Lord HertfordRichard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of HertfordCaptain Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford KG was the son of Francis Seymour-Conway, 3rd Marquess of Hertford....
on the 31st of May 1865 for the Wallace CollectionWallace CollectionThe Wallace Collection is a museum in London, with a world-famous range of fine and decorative arts from the 15th to the 19th centuries with large holdings of French 18th-century paintings, furniture, arms & armour, porcelain and Old Master paintings arranged into 25 galleries.It was established in...
where it is now visible. - one owned by Edmond James de RothschildEdmond James de RothschildBaron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild was a French member of the Rothschild banking family. A strong supporter of Zionism, his generous donations lent significant support to the movement during its early years, which helped lead to the establishment of the State of Israel.- Early years :A...
, slightly different from the original, has a known peculiarity: the lady's dress is blue, not pink - a smaller version (56 × 46 cm) owned by Duke Jules de Polignac. This painting became the property of the Grimaldi familyHouse of GrimaldiThe House of Grimaldi is associated with the history of the Republic of Genoa and of the Principality of Monaco.-History:The Grimaldi family descends from Grimaldo, a Genoese statesman at the time of the early Crusades. He might have been a son of Otto Canella, a consul of the Republic of Genoa in...
in 1930 when Pierre de Polignac (1895-1964) married Princess Charlotte, Duchess of ValentinoisPrincess Charlotte, Duchess of ValentinoisPrincess Charlotte, Duchess of Valentinois , was the daughter of Louis II, Prince of Monaco, and the mother of Prince Rainier III...
(1898-1977). In 1966, it was given by the Grimaldi & Labeyrie Collection to the city of VersaillesVersaillesVersailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...
, where it is currently exhibited at Musée LambinetMusée LambinetThe Musée Lambinet is a municipal museum in Versailles telling the history of the town. Since 1932 it has been housed in the hôtel Lambinet, a hôtel particulier designed by Élie Blanchard, built in the second half of the 18th century by a part of the Clagny lake and left to the town of Versailles...
Notable derived works
- 1782: Les Hazards Heureux de l'Escarpolettes, etchingEtchingEtching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
and engravingEngravingEngraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
by Nicolas de Launay (1739–1792), 62.3 × 45.5 cm (24 ⅝ × 17 ⅞ in). Contrary to the original painting, the lady is facing right and has plumes on her hat (among other dissimilarities) because it was drawn after the replica owned by Edmond de Rothschild. - 1972: Sailin' ShoesSailin' ShoesSailin' Shoes was the second studio album by the American rock band Little Feat, released in 1972. It is notable for several reasons.First, it introduced the work of Neon Park to the group, with his design of a sailing shoe of a cake swinging on a tree swing that adorned the front cover, which...
, cover art of record album by American rock band Little FeatLittle FeatLittle Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
, artwork by Neon ParkNeon ParkNeon Park was an American artist and illustrator, best known for the images that have strongly defined covers for nearly every Little Feat album except for the band's self-titled first album. He also created the cover of Weasels Ripped My Flesh for Frank Zappa, as well as covers and graphics for... - 1999: The first act of the ballet "Contact: The MusicalContact (musical)Contact: The Musical is a musical "dance play" that was developed by Susan Stroman and John Weidman, with its "book" by Weidman and both choreography and direction by Stroman. It ran both off-Broadway and on Broadway in 1999 - 2000. It consists of three separate one-act dance...
" by Susan StromanSusan StromanSusan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:...
and John WeidmanJohn WeidmanJohn Weidman is an American librettist. He is the son of librettist and novelist Jerome Weidman.He has written the books for a wide variety of stage musicals, three in collaboration with Stephen Sondheim: Pacific Overtures, Assassins, and Road Show...
is described as a "contact improvisation" on the painting. - 2001: The Swing (after Fragonard), a headless lifesize recreation of Fragonard's model clothed in African fabric, by Yinka ShonibareYinka ShonibareYinka Shonibare, MBE, is a British-Nigerian artist living in the UK. He readily acknowledges physical disability as part of his identity but creates work in which this is just one strand of a far richer weave.-Life and career:...
- 2010: Tangled, a Disney film based on the RapunzelRapunzel"Rapunzel" is a German fairy tale in the collection assembled by the Brothers Grimm, and first published in 1812 as part of Children's and Household Tales. The Grimm Brothers' story is an adaptation of the fairy tale Persinette by Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force originally published in 1698...
story, based its visual style on The Swing.