The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

The Swing

The Swing

1782
(French, 1739–1792)
(French, 1732–1806)
France, 18th century
engraving
Charles W. Harkness Endowment Fund 1923.580
Catalogue raisonné: Portalis and Béraldi 540
Location: not on view

Description

This large print, based on a painting by Fragonard, symbolizes the pleasure-seeking and frivolous aspects of Rococo art. Unbeknownst to the man pushing the swing, a suitor reclining in the bushes gets a glimpse under the woman's skirts as she flies through the air, losing her shoe. Contemporary viewers would have understood the association of the lost shoe with sexual dalliance, a motif reinforced by other elements within the image, such as the cavorting nude figures on the base of the statue of a cupid who gestures "hush." Delaunay's work is extremely successful in translating the qualities of a painting into the more restricted vocabulary of graphic techniques. He masterfully transposed Fragonard's charming composition, retaining all of the movement and verve of the painting. Using a rich variety of hatchings, cross-hatchings, and dots, Delaunay conveyed the tonal range, lighting, and spatial effects of the painting remarkably well.
  • Inventive Impressions: 18th- and 19-Century French Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001).
    Rococo, Revolution, Restoration. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 11-September 24, 1989).
    Department of Prints and Drawings Opening Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (March 3, 1958-October 11, 1959).
    Exhibition of the Month: "Rococo Style in Various Arts. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 30, 1945).
    Miscellaneous Prints and Drawings from the Museum Collections. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 23-October 23, 1924).
  • {{cite web|title=The Swing|url=false|author=Nicolas Delaunay, Jean-Honoré Fragonard|year=1782|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1923.580