The Swing

The Swing

Ð'ÐŽÐ'§InvitingÐ'ÐŽÐ'Ё is the word that comes to mind when I look at the painting The Swing. This masterpiece was Jean-Honore FragonardÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s most famous Rococo piece painted in 1766. The most prominent reason I enjoy this painting is because there is some sort of story line or drama unveiling here. The painting is starring Barton de Saint-Julien and his mistress who is swinging on a twiddled vine looped down from a tree and co-starring is an older gentleman who is left back in the shadows as if not a part of this rendezvous these two lovers are sharing. Barton, lying down around the shrubs in the grass, is in awe of his mistress swinging above him. She seems to be fluttering her feet like the wings of a butterfly and then nonchalantly slips off one of her peach ornamented shoes merely trying to catch her loverÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s attention if only for a brief second. Obviously, she has his full attention, and one can tell by the ecstatic look on BartonÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s face as heÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s catching the great view she offers down to him; well at least his face ought to be in amazement of her because she is his mistress so that means she better be incredibly gorgeous because there is a wife around there somewhere who probably wouldnÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦t be to happen to find this out. Ð'Ñ"Ð'Ñ"

Not only do I respect the way Fragonard seems to draw me in the painting by there being some sort of plot line, but also because of FragonardÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s elegant use of colors and lighting; dimming and brightening in all the right places. The colors were all very warm feeling, like the sun beating down on a summerÐ'ÐŽÐ'¦s day. Monochromatic best describes the color-scheme used around the outsides of the painting, like the trees and the shadows of them. However, Fragonard switches to a polychromatic scheme when he gets near the central area of the scene, brightening everything around and on the mistress, especially her dress. He not only focuses on the mistress with where he places his colors but by the way the lines move throughout the painting. The lines are sweeping exactly towards her in a diagonal manner. They are also clearly defined with every short stroke having a specific purpose, and very ornamental. All the leaves are so precisely placed in each very spot as if they were