how much is the swing painting worth

Texture in The Swing (c. 1767-1768) by Jean-Honor Fragonard;Jean-Honor Fragonard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Her left hand (our right) holds on to the swings rope while her right hand (our left) is open. The act of taming is further recalled by an adjacent sculpture of two. his most voyeuristic canvases a wonderful atmosphere of gaiety and joyfulness. for which he is now most famous. The Cupid statue is reminiscent of Etienne-Maurice Falconets Menacing Cupid (1757), which was a marble sculpture reportedly made for Madame de Pompadour, who was King Louis XVs mistress and confidante. was so positioned as to be able to see up her the girl's skirt. the idiom pioneered by Jean-Antoine In the shadows behind her, an older manperhaps her cuckolded husbandpulls the swings reins. In particular, look for a signature that was hand-written or added to the piece using paint. She also appears to be the only colorful figure in the composition, where her dress is like a beacon of color and light. Her paramour wears a pewter-hued suit, extends a black tricorne hat into the brush, and looks up the womans skirt with what can only be described as the goofiest, most love-struck grin possible. If there are auction records, you may wish to compare your own artwork to those works with estimates and/or sale prices. To log in and use all the features of Khan Academy, please enable JavaScript in your browser. Further prints are available from the Fragonard gallery. The dog appears to be barking as it looks at the woman on the swing. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". Considered to be Fragonard's most successful painting, The Swing stands alone today as an emblem of Rococo art. 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. Thus, the commissioner would probably be the man in the bottom left corner looking at his mistress with lustful eyes. Signatures are easy to fake, so dont use this as your only proof of authenticity. The white dog is a symbol of fidelity, its barking seems to alert us about the intruding lover who is looking up the womans skirt. View sold prices. 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. We can see there is a vertical emphasis due to the swings ropes and the tall trees. First of all, are you thinking of buying it because you like it? history of ownership), Facts supporting price? As it was, Fragonard replaced the bishop with the The male figures in the painting make it a seemingly romantic painting where others struggle for the attention of this pure young lady who casually looks down towards them. They are signed, dated and numbered on the back. The Swing has a charmingly classic style which attracts many in an instant, and helps to promote the Rococo period of art which remains relatively lesser known when compared to other art movements such as impressionism or cubism. Have the colors faded, or is there water damage? When Fragonard was given this request, he did not depict a bishop, but instead someone who appeared to be the mistress husband. That in itself does not guarantee that the piece you are looking at is a genuine, original piece by the artist whose name is on it. Courtesy of the Wallace Collection. 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 Merge NFTs were sold in an open edition style (the opposite of a limited edition sale) from December 2 to December 4, 2021. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. For the meaning of other celebrated masterpieces, Little did Fragonard know that centuries later we would be stealing a glance at the inner life of a wealthy man and his pleasurable escapades represented by his mistress. The Swing painting by Jean-Honor Fragonard is more than just a woman on a swing, it is a peepshow into 18th-century French aristocratic customs and cultures, including the art style at the time, which was known as Rococo. As a small thank you, wed like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). 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. commemorating the spirit of aesthetic refinement and aristocratic decadence Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. During King Louis XIVs reign, the artistic style has been described as more geometric and serious. These cooler colors are offset by the warmer colors of the womans dress. 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. I have studied different art movements for over 15 years, and also am an amateur artist myself! Female figure (detail), Jean-Honor Fragonard, Jean-Honor Fragonard, Blind-Mans Buff, 1750-52, oil on canvas, 46 x 36 inches (Toledo Museum of Art). On the right side of the piece, symbols of restriction counterbalance the reference to unrestrained lust on the left. Its no surprise, however, that famed shoe designer Manolo Blahnik, whose swank heels cluttered Carrie Bradshaws closet in Sex and the City and adorned Kirsten Dunsts feet in Sofia Coppolas Marie Antoinette (2006), is a fan of The Swing. I'm the writer and founder of TheHistoryOfArt.org. her dress - and even kicks her legs apart for his benefit. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Take a picture of the signature, and look it up online to see if it matches a known artist. For advice on how to decide if an authentic painting is valuable, scroll down! Line, form, and shape in The Swing (c. 1767-1768) by Jean-Honor Fragonard;Jean-Honor Fragonard, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. She is being Roccoco is a style of art that has emerged out of baroque and as a result, both styles share several features. The decision to situate the mnage--trois in an overgrown garden both foreshadows the impending Romantic eras emphasis on nature and allows the central female figure to take a more active role in the scene. Women of Algiers (Version O) (1954-55) sold at auction for a record-breaking $179 million in 2015, beating previous record-breaking sales of Le Rve . Fragonards brushwork became a lot more unstable and rather rough during the later part of his career. Saint-Julien wanted a picture of his mistress that also featured him looking up the ladys skirt. By using our site, you agree to our. Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768) by Joseph Wright of Derby. Erte prints offer style and affordability that, whether muted or bright, convey a delicious sense of luxury. A twelve-inch-by-12-inch painting is approximately 144 square inches. wikiHow is where trusted research and expert knowledge come together. High near 70F. 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. Poussin was greatly influenced by ancient roman art and other Renaissance artists such as Domenichino. Ed RuschaPop word illusions After all, austerity was hardly in vogue throughout Marie Antoinettes France. Therefore, while your own research initiative on askART is encouraged as a learning experience, askART cannot be held responsible for, nor can it validate, the conclusions you or others may have derived. Use our search tools to find your artist. To identify the artist, look for a signature, initials, or monogram. Just under 60 years ago, the very same painting, then generally reckoned to be. If a painting only has 1 or 2 spots of texture, it may be a forgery disguising itself as the real deal. phallic significance. ", http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-26084224, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ1G27SgMUU&feature=youtu.be&t=4m26s, http://aty.sdsu.edu/bibliog/latex/scan/dots.html, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0Xae0GkTi4&feature=youtu.be&t=1m8s, (Spot Valuable Paintings). 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. What is the Provenance? National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Museo Nacional Thyssean-Bornemisza, Madrid, Vanessa Bezemer Sellers, From Italy to France: Gardens in the Court of Louis XIV and After on, Perrin Stein, Jean Honor Fragonard (17321806) on. Look for a legible signature or notation on the artwork, including the back, and also on the bottom if it is a sculpture. Read my bio here. Within the larger art-historical tradition, The Swing riffs on the genre of boudoir paintingscanvases that feature a woman in her private chambers, primed or procured for a romantic liaison. 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. There are at least 8 paintings in the world with an estimated price tag above $200 million and over 4 dozen paintings that have a value above $100 million, with Mona Lista price at the very top of the list. One of the less subtle signs of eroticism is the woman's extended leg that exposes her thigh. The resulting authentication will allow for an certified art appraiser to valuate the work. We see a pink slipper slip out of her dainty foot into the air. Public Domain. With the exhilaration of vertigo play, swinging permitted occasions of sexual disorder where uninhibited positions revealed the body and spectators glimpsed views that were usually hidden from sight, she observes. A leading artist of this period was Jean-Antoine Watteau, who depicted the characteristic scenes of love, play, and courtship and people dressed in lavish costumes surrounded by nature, typically in a lush garden setting, engaged in festivities or celebrations. So youll know what paintings to keep an eye out for, learn about different artists through local galleries, art museums, and online databases like the Web Gallery of Art. Artist: Jean-Honore However, artists like Pieter Bruegel were drawn to the life of the everyday people we meet in passing. See also: French Watteau, Fragonard began to specialize in the playful, erotic compositions If you're behind a web filter, please make sure that the domains *.kastatic.org and *.kasandbox.org are unblocked. If it is a print, it may still be worth something. Jenkins' pictorial universe consists of streaks of color that awaken associations. Doyen painted more serious subject matter within the History painting genre, and reportedly referred the client to Fragonard. man's presence. It has alternatively been titled The Happy Accidents of the Swing, and in French, it is Les hasards heureux de lescarpolette. So, I asked a local auction house and they highly recommended your service. century colour palette, witty content and fast brushwork gave even This website brings you information on this great painting and offers it for sale from a trusted online retailer who we regularly use ourselves. He created over 550 paintings embodying the spirit of the Rococo age. This man is possibly her husband, unaware of the younger-looking gentleman in front of her in the bushes, who is possibly her lover. The Swing (L'Escarpolette), originally However, please be aware that your own research may not be a substitute for the type of formal analysis and appraisal that can come from contracting a qualified professional appraisal service. Vigee-Lebrun (1755-1842), painter to Queen Marie-Antoinette, as well to Cythera (1717) by Jean-Antoine Watteau. Below we will take a closer peek at The Swing painting, starting with the subject matter in more detail and the inherent symbolism that Fragonard aptly incorporated. Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. In 18th-century France, gardens were becoming romantic sites of bourgeois escape; the fashionably dressed woman here appears like a flower in full bloom. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The Swing original painting measures 81cm 64.2cm (31in 25 in) and can be viewed in all it's glory at that Wallace Collection in London, where it remains one of the major draws and was recently used for advertisements of the gallery which were displayed all over London.