ZARMINA KHAN NAVEED 05/12/22

ART APPRECIATION/ IR257

Midterm Requirement for Art Appreciation

Artwork Analysis: Contextual Plane

OPTION A: TERM PAPER
CHOOSEN PAINTING (PART I):

A. Rococo

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Les Hasards Heureux de L'Escarpolette

“The Swing”, (1767) Courtesy of the Wallace Collection.

ANALYSIS (PART II):

A young lady, the Baron's mistress, swings in the middle of the artwork. The woman tosses
her footwear as a symbol of passion towards her beloved, showing her ankles simultaneously at
that time, that had an immensely sensual sense at their period.
The artwork was made during an era while creativity, liberty, and exploration were
admired. The artwork was indeed a huge hit and has been widely regarded as being one of the
outstanding rococo artworks or paintings. The painting looks to be a basic portrait of a young
woman having fun at first look, but somehow it soon becomes evident that the painting is
intentionally provocative. Since the woman let’s her lover to look up her dress while she rides up
even higher on the swing, and perhaps even spreads up her leg for his pleasure. Like she does so,
one among her footwear flies onto the air going to the direction of the cupid. Behind and to the
right, a fooled spouse swings the swing with a happy face, unaware knowing his wife is having
pleasure with yet another partner. You can see the cupid on the right side above the woman’s lover
holds a finger to its lips. It symbolizes to keep quiet.
For me, you can really see the meaning of the painting how a woman is cheating to her
husband, how the cupid looks at their direction and symbolizing to keep quiet about the affair in
the painting. Fragonard excels at combining sexual and romantic elements with both a beauty of
nature. The viewers can observe the natural colors and things around the people while the swinging
encounter is a sensual and sentimental experience. The woods, plants, trees, and sunlight passing
through the branches are all realistic and appealing.

References:

Cohen, A. (2019, September 9). Undressing the Erotic Symbolism in “The Swing,” Fragonard’s Decadent

Masterpiece. Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-undressing-erotic-symbolism-the-swing-

fragonards-decadent-masterpiece

The Swing, Fragonard: Analysis, Interpretation. (n.d.). Www.visual-Arts-Cork.com. http://www.visual-

arts-cork.com/famous-paintings/swing-fragonard.htm