His delicate 18th Jean-Honor Fragonard, The Swing, 1767, oil on canvas (Wallace Collection, London, photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0), Nicolas Delaunay after Jean-Honor Fragonard, Les Hazards heureux de lEscarpolette [Happy Hazards of the Swing], 1782, etching and engraving (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.). The picture depicts a young woman on a tree swing, being pushed by her husband. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Then in the paintComponent () method you iterate through the List and paint the objects. Instead of eggs, any glutinous water-soluble binder may be used to create a tempera paint. A self-portrait by Jean-Honor Fragonard called Inspiration (1769);Jean-Honor Fragonard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. I'm the writer and founder of TheHistoryOfArt.org. This is especially important if you plan to sell your paintings online since small and abstract art is hard to convey over digitized photographs. Near the feet of the old man operating the swing is a small poodle, who appears to be barking. Painting The Swing Painting by Fragonard: An Artistic Analysis The two most common purposes for appraisal are Fair Market Value (the value typically applied to the donation of an artwork to a qualifying non-profit art institution), and Replacement Value (which is typically required for insurance purposes). the two Venus-putti beneath the swing from giving the game away, while Our auction records go back close to 20 years, and cover the prices an artist may have obtained at auction, including presale estimates, sizes, titles, and images of the artworks. A Notable Artist As a result, Court focused on smaller paintings that he could sell easily. What's my Rockwell worth? The use of color in The Swing (c. 1767-1768) by Jean-Honor Fragonard;Jean-Honor Fragonard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. One may also notice that cupid uses his other hand to remove an arrow from his quiver as if about to strike the careless woman with love. For advice on how to decide if an authentic painting is valuable, scroll down! For example, in 2019 a Picasso painting from 1932 sold for $28 million. A Genre Painting Peasant, Read More PeasantWedding Painting: An in-depth analysisContinue, Nicholas Poussin was a French classical painter who spent most of his life studying and creating art in Rome. as works by Jean-Baptiste The idea was to evoke a sense of lightness and awe in onlookers, to display the grand and opulent. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. During the 19th century, painting a fleeting glimpse of ordinary life without any deeper symbolism was quite unusual. The auction house estimated its . Researchers theorize that the painting has been commissioned by a member of the French Royal Court. Many think of askART as 'The Artists' Bluebook'. As he releases the ropes, she leans back and extends her legs, expelling a tiny pink slipper from her pointed foot. The protagonist of the present painting is the young woman in the center enjoying a swing in a lush garden wearing a pink satin gown. The Swing by Jean-Honor Fragonard | DailyArt Magazine This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. She notes that swinging was a leisure activity for the aristocratic class that loosened up its participants. The Swing, Fragonard: Analysis, Interpretation However, the actual price will depend on many factors. If you'd like to learn more about valuable paintings, check out our in-depth interview with Claire Wentzel. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. While the roses below the woman echo the color of her dress, the rest of the composition, the background, and two male figures are darker in color with more neutral, cooler greens and blues denoting the shadows. The Swing by Jean-Honor Fragonard - The History of Art Her slipper is aimed at a large marble statue of what appears to be a Cupid, the Roman god of love. What is known, however, is that Fragonards client, as we will refer to him, requested a depiction of his mistress and himself. The painting is designed to be ethereal, personal, sensual, and sexually charged. The picture came with a bill of sale and a signed letter by Nazi. It does not store any personal data. Jenkins' pictorial universe consists of streaks of color that awaken associations. On the right side of the piece, symbols of restriction counterbalance the reference to unrestrained lust on the left. Rococo pieces were expensive and exclusive, thus they were favored by the French aristocrats. Jonesboro, GA (30236) Today. The way sunlight strikes the elements from the top left corner, everything apart from the woman seems like a part of the garden, unless you start looking closely. Enjoy! Using a series of connected ropes, he pulls the swing back to create the momentum necessary to propel the woman forward. Such playful and erotic scenes were popular among the elite clientele Fragonard served. She is not constrained by the societal rules of how women were supposed to behave, and she does not seem ashamed of the fact that her dress is revealing her legs and possibly more. The slipper leads our eye toward a marble statue of cupid. In Heaven and the Flesh: Imagery of Desire from the Renaissance to the Rococo (1995), scholars Clive Hart and Kay Stevensoncall The Swing a disguised representation of inverted sexual intercourse. More colloquially, they see the painting as a cheeky implication of a sex act that situates the woman on top. One of the less subtle signs of eroticism is the womans extended leg that exposes her thigh. Older man (detail), Jean-Honor Fragonard, These references to unbridled passion are balanced by symbols of constraint on the right side of the composition. We wonder, who will she choose next? A detail of the foreground in The Swing (c. 1767-1768) by Jean-Honor Fragonard;Jean-Honor Fragonard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. tienne-Maurice Falconet, Seated Cupid, 1757. Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768) by Joseph Wright of Derby. Visitors who become Subscriber members have access to all the valuable data listed below. Interpretation of Other 18th Century Paintings, An French painting, who The size of an artwork is very often a factor in its value. The cupid statue is another potent erotic symbol. In the lower-left corner, we see her lover, resting his body on his right elbow as he looks at his mistress completely mesmerized by her beauty and overcome by ecstasy. In 1752 he won the Prix de Rome prize and studied in Italy for five years, from 1756 to 1761. The opening in the trees above her is a possible light source that spotlights her figure as she swings out of the shadows behind her. This was the Baroque style, which also centered around more religious themes in art. It's original title was Les Hasards Heureux de l'Escarpolette, and this is how French art followers will still refer to it as. Read More What is Tempera Paint? David Carrick Swing Paintings & Artwork for Sale | David Carrick Swing Often a local art gallery with a good reputation will provide a valuation. PeasantWedding Painting: An in-depth analysis, The Death of Germanicus: All Emotions Explained, Scene of Deluge Painting: Meaning and Analysis, Claude Monet paintings: Analysis of his best work. I started collecting art about 2 months ago and was looking for a "bluebook" service to give me an idea on what I should pay. If a painting only has 1 or 2 spots of texture, it may be a forgery disguising itself as the real deal. been commissioned by the Baron de Saint-Julien, who wanted a picture of Artist: Jean-Honore concealed in the foliage - who is watching a young woman on a swing. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. So, the total price per square inch is $432. The swing hangs upon the high branches of a tree, being pushed by a man sitting on the right edge of the scene. Sunny skies. There is a sense of movement and dynamism created by the forward motion of the swing, this is highlighted by the ropes tied to the trees above the woman. Maenads are the followers of the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. picture is deliberately risque and rather rascally. Boucher - whose main patron was Louis XV's mistress, Madame de Pompadour Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. INDEX. If there are auction records, you may wish to compare your own artwork to those works with estimates and/or sale prices. As it was, Fragonard replaced the bishop with the The Swing belongs to the rococo or late baroque period and is therefore extremely decorative and dramatic in style. His Cubist painting "Femme Assise", made in 1909, was sold for USD 63.4 million in 2016, breaking a world record for the highest price paid on an auction for a Cubist artwork. The man behind the woman, holding on to the swings ropes, is believed to be her husband, but the ropes have been compared to the restriction of marriage and possibly the idea of ownership, as he has a hold of her throughout her swinging activity. The Pre-Arranged Flight (1772-1773) by Jean-Honor Fragonard;Daderot, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Unlike large-scale history paintings, or the widely collected genres of portraiture and landscape, these works were relatively small (81 x 64.2 cm in the case of, Female figure (detail), Jean-Honor Fragonard, The Swing, 1767, oil on canvas, 81 x 64.2 cm (Wallace Collection, London; photo: Steven Zucker, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0). A painting of Christ believed to have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci has just sold for a record $450m (341m). In front of him is a small white dog looking up at the woman and barking at her, his front paws resting on the border of a hedge while he stands on his back legs. Baron Louis-Guillaume Baillet de Saint-Julien commissioned The Swing from Fragonard with salacious intentions. An art authenticator can identify the author, finding the history of the object and finally determining if it is authentic through forensic testing if necessary. for his still life painting Both Cupids have a finger to their lips as if they are keeping a secret. She was requested to be portrayed on a swing with a bishop pushing her, while the client was in the bushes with a full-frontal view of his matresse. phallic significance. The expression of sexual desires and fantasies in the painting rivals the fertility of the almost overgrown garden. www.TheHistoryOfArt.org 2023. (i.e. frame is all of what I have in my painting. What is Tempera Paint? Many old frames have a X or H shape in the back, something far less common in contemporary frames. Louvre Museum, Paris. Initially, the Baron tried to hire history painter Gabriel Franois Doyen to make the work. With the success of The Swing, Fragonard was able to successfully transition from a history painter frustrated by royal bureaucracy to a favored artist of the upper classmembers of which, ostensibly, were more willing and able to pay on time. These are usually statues of nude children who are cherubs. At present the painting is with David Martinez, who bought it from David Geffen in 2006. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. himself occupied an important position in the Church, as Receiver General There is a contrast of light and dark in The Swing painting, we see how Fragonard created this by highlighting the woman as she swings into the center. Nicolas Delaunay after Jean-Honor Fragonard, 10 Artworks That Defined the Rococo Style, The Meaning behind One of the Most Oddly Erotic Paintings in Western Art, Jenna Gribbon, Luncheon on the grass, a recurring dream, 2020. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Oath Research suggests that the painting was commissioned to be part of a private collection, ordered by a member of the French Royal Court in the 18th Century. Andrew WyethPortraits The Swing (1767) by Jean-Honore Fragonard While on the left side of the painting we see raw and untamed love, the right side hints toward societal constraints. Appraisal results will vary according to the intended purpose of the appraisal. The French dramatist and songwriter Charles Coll tells how he met the painter Francois Doyen in 1767 who tells him that he has been approached by a "gentleman of the court" who had seen one of his religious paintings being exhibited in Paris. This motion reveals her white stockings and pinkish-colored garter around her right leg under her dress, and we can assume it possibly reveals more. Within this context we can understand more about Fragonards clientele, who were often wealthy aristocrats. There is a looseness and expressiveness in Fragonards manner, especially noticeable in the womans dress. The sculpture looks down at the man admiring his mistress, and its as if he gestures to us to keep our voices down. Fragonard is one of the most respected Rococo artists and has left a great legacy with several other paintings also as impressive as The Swing. artists like Fragonard, see: Homepage. Fragonard is a famous Rococo painter from France whose paintings were elaborate and colourful, with many fans still studying his career in detail . If you know the artists name, look them up online and see if their signature matches the version on the painting. Fragonard (1732-1806) Depicting Arizo. The size of an oil painting is an important factor in determining its price. At the center of the work, a young woman clothed in a billowing, ruffled, ballet-pink dress floats in a dramatically lit clearing, rocking above the ground on a crimson-cushioned swing. Fragonard had no such qualmsand his career benefited from it. was so positioned as to be able to see up her the girl's skirt. Interestingly, Fragonard was not initially chosen to make this oil painting, but was brought in by Gabriel Franois Doyen who did not approve of the specification himself. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. All Rights Reserved. During King Louis XIVs reign, the artistic style has been described as more geometric and serious. With over 20 years of experience, she specializes in mixed media participatory art, brand messaging, and building organizational culture.