The Happy Accident of the Swing

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Fragonard painted his masterpiece, The Swing after another artist had refused the risqué commission offered by a gentleman of the English court who wanted a portrait of himself surreptitiously observing his mistress on a swing. The result epitomized the themes and unapologetically decorative flounces of the Rococo style. In this print the airy textures of the painting have been transformed into elegantly engraved patterns befitting the motion, outdoor setting, and eroticism of the scene.

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