The swing by fragonard Archives - Art History With Alder

Top 5 Rococo Artworks

Rococo artwork is known for its flamboyant depiction of wealth and the aristocracy in the 18th century. This article covers the top five Rococo artworks that I think are important to the movement. You can also watch my video of these 5 artworks on YouTube.

Pilgrimage to Cythera (#1)

Pilgrimage to Cythera by Jean-Antoine Watteau was completed in 1717. This artwork was the catalyst to the Rococo movement. Approved by the French academy of painting and sculpture, this piece introduced wealth, flamboyance, and a new art style into painting. Characteristics of this new art style (Rococo) included loose brush strokes, pastel colors, and flamboyant escapades of the wealthy class – which is what the Rococo art movement would become known for. They even had to create a new genre in the academy called the fete gelante in order to fit this into their hierarchy of art.

Madame de Pompadour (#2)

Madame de Pompadour by Francois Boucher - Rococo artworks images — *Madame de Pompadour* by Francois Boucher (1756)

Francois Boucher completed Madame de Pompadour in 1756. Boucher took over the Rococo art movement after Watteau. In fact, he was one of the most well-known artists of the 18th century. A lot of this had to do with his main patroness, the Marquis de Pompadour, aka the Madame de Pompadour, aka King Henry the 15th’s famous mistress.

The Madame de Pompadour loved Boucher’s work so much that she had him paint almost every single one of her portraits. These artworks all hold a typical Rococo style in portraiture – loose brushstrokes, pastel colors, whimsical looks on their young idealized faces, and lots of symbols of wealth and power. Because of her wealth, power, and connections (you know, being connected to the king and all), she actually helped propel the Rococo art movement forward.

Self-Portrait, Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (#3)

Image of Self-Portrait, Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (A Rococo artwork) — *Self-Portrait, Elisabeth* Louise Vigée-LeBrun (1790)

Number three of my top five Rococo artworks is Vigee Le Brun’s self-portrait. Vigee Le Brun shifts between Rococo and Neoclassical. The style she does is Rococo, but her subject matter is more Neoclassical. I think she is an important Rococo artist because first of all, she was the lead portrait artist of Marie Antoinette who lived in Versailles and was an important figure in Versailles history. Second, her husband Victor Le Brun was the interior decorator of Versailles, which was very Rococo/Baroque. Victor also started the French academy of painting and sculpture. So, she’s just kind of a big name.

Not only was she connected to important Rococo persons, but she is a very talented painter. Vigée-LeBrun is fantastic with the Rococo styles of loose brush strokes (just look at her hair in the above picture!), pastel colors, and whimsical youthful faces. She also shows us what Rococo artists thought of themselves. She paints herself in the manner of painting, a serious artist. In addition, you can tell by the way she is dressed that she belongs to this wealthy class that she’s so associated with. It’s her way of bringing artists to the level of those people who are doing fete gelante.

Marriage A-la-Mode (#4)

Marriage A-la-Mode by William Hogarth (1743)

The Marriage A-la-Mode, by William Hogarth was completed in 1743. This Rococo artwork is a series of six paintings that makes fun of Rococo. It’s not necessarily done in the Rococo style, but in order to better understand the Rococo movement, you have to check this piece out.

In this piece, Hogarth satirizes the upper class – those people who can spend all of their money conversing in salons and going on fete gelantes. The six paintings show the story of an arranged marriage full of wealth and class that does not end well. It dramatizes the downfall of living a life like the aristocracy was doing during Rococo. What happens when you age and you no longer look beautiful and you no longer can go on these escapades? Or even worse, what happens if you lose all your money?

The Swing (#5)

Image of The Swing by Fragonard - A Rococo artwork — *The Swing* by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1767)

Finally, I can’t not pick The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Fragonard was able to build on the foundation that Watteau and Boucher had created for him to create a masterpiece. And in my opinion, this is the quintessential Rococo art piece. It has the perfect representation of all of those Rococo art characteristics – it’s frilly, it’s frivolous, it’s frothy, it’s full of wonder and secrecy. There’s lots of dynamic movement that connects it to the Baroque art period. You’ll find loose brush strokes, pastel colors, and this feeling of romance and love. The Swing is just perfectly Rococo.

Understanding these top 5 Rococo artworks helps you connect with the history, artists, and people surrounding the Rococo art movement.

The Swing by Fragonard – The Quintessential Rococo Piece

Here is The Swing by Fragonard - the best-known Rococo piece

The Swing by Fragonard has become the quintessential art piece of the Rococo Art Movement. By studying this playful, hedonistic piece you basically come to understand Rococo and the art history context of the time. This blog article covers some of the most common questions about The Swing:

Who is the artist?
Why was it painted?
What’s going on in the painting?
How is this painting Rococo?

Who is the artist of The Swing

Jean-Honoré Fragonard painted The Swing in 1767, which became his best-known painting. Fragonard is a well-known French Rococo painter who completed over 550 paintings. He was known for his hedonistic Rococo style.

Why was The Swing painted?

Although we don’t know for sure, the person who commissioned the piece is thought to be Baron Louis-Guillaume Baillet de Saint-Julien. Rumor has it that the baron wanted to be looking up the skirt of the swinging lady, while a bishop was swinging her (scandalous!).

Doyen was the original artist requested for the painting. But due to the sexual nature of the piece, Doyen did not end up taking the work. Fragonard took the commission and would later be thankful, as it propelled his career.

What’s going on in the painting?

The Woman

The focus of the painting is unmistakably the flirtatious woman on the swing. The lighting coming from the upper left hand corner and moving down towards the woman helps direct our attention to her. (Diagonals that help direct focus is a baroque art style, the art movement leading up to Rococo.)

You can see her shoe flying off as she flips up her dress. She doesn’t seem to be too worried about the man looking up her dress (scandalous!). In fact, she almost seems to be inviting his sensual gaze.

The Men

Besides the woman, we have two men in this painting. It looks as if the two men are not aware of each other’s presence. As previously mentioned, the man looking up the woman’s dress is said to be the patron who commissioned the piece. The man in the background (with a coy smirk on his face) is perhaps a bishop or other religious leader who is seeking a more “righteous” love. But little does he know that the woman is giving permission to another man to look up her dress.

The Statues

First, we have a cupid statue on the left side of the painting. You can see he is holding his finger to his lips, as if to say, “shh”. This helps add to the sensuality and nauthiness of the piece.

Just below the woman, you’ll also notice two more cupids attached to an aquatic animal. Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty is said to be born of the sea. Therefore, she is often associated with aquatic animals, dolphins being the most common. All the more adding to the theme of love and sensuality throughout the piece.

The Garden

Finally, a couple of important aspects of the garden are important to point out. At first glance you may miss it, but in between the women and religious leader, you’ll notice what looks like a fence in the background. Perhaps this is a private, luxurious garden? A place for mischief to happen? Common to the aristocracy? These may be aspects that the patron or Fragonard himself was considering while painting The Swing.

In addition to the fence, there is some sort of barrier below the two cupids. Notice that the Bishop is outside the barrier, whereas the man looking up the dress is not. Hmm. . .

Lastly, the green lusciousness of the garden is difficult to miss. All the more adding to the feeling of abundant love, sensuality, mischief, and fun happening throughout the piece

How is Fragonard’s The Swing Rococo?

Fragonard’s The Swing has come to be known as the quintessential Rococo art piece. This piece fully embodies the history leading up to and surrounding Rococo and the important art characteristics and themes that come from the movement, including the following:

The power and influence of the aristocracy
Pastel colors with a more painterly style
Lingering Baroque characteristics (the diagonal lighting)
An absence of monarchy and religious themes that were common in previous art periods. (In this case, The Swing goes a step further with an almost rebellious tone towards religion.)
Themes of sexual, mischievous love

These themes and characteristics are more sporadically found throughout Rococo art. But to have them all in one piece, and in prominent fashion, really makes The Swing by Fragonard the best example of what the Rococo Art Movement was all about.

If you enjoy Rococo and The Swing and/or need a good study guide, download a Rococo infographic PDF, which includes a summary of the movement and an analysis of The Swing.