The swing, Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1767) in a beige grey colour by MadameRuiz

About "The swing, Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1767) in a beige grey colour"

by MadameRuiz

About the artwork

The Swing, also known as 'Happy Accidents on the Swing' is an oil painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard from 1767. The painting was created at the end of the 18th century in the Rococo style.

In the image we see a naughty outing in the garden. Completely in keeping with the Rococo era, this work exudes lightness and sensuality. The French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard regularly painted erotic scenes of the daily life of the nobility.

In this case, it is a young lady of nobility, in a beautiful pink dress, on a swing in a clearing in pristine nature. While swinging, she throws off her shoe and gives the man in the bottom left of the painting the opportunity to peek under her skirt between her spread legs. The reaction of the man, probably her lover, is to take off his hat and hold it in her direction. The two are depicted in a love triangle with Cupid on the left, the god of carnal love. He was the one who made people fall in love by shooting an arrow into their hearts and was the helper of Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. At the bottom right we see another man who does not seem to see this erotic spectacle. He literally seems to be in control. Perhaps this is her husband who knows nothing about the adultery shown here, but still has power over her.

The painting shows adultery, lust, eroticism, love and power in a playfully idyllic painting.

The beautiful detailing and refinement of the dress contrasts sharply with the primal feeling with which the surroundings are painted, as can be seen in the gnarled old and twisted tree on the right of the painting.

The use of color has been simplified to a romantic pink and beige and gray tones. This makes it quieter in the living room than the original, in which green and blue take the upper hand.

The painting is now part of the Wallace Collection in London and is part of the public domain CC0 open content program.