...Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a rather interesting man. He lived up to the idea of the stereotypical Frenchman, a lover of art, extravagance, and women. His passions are clearly shown in his painting The Swing. This work was created in 1766, using oil paint on a large, nearly square canvas, and now resides at the Wallace Collection in London. Many scholars describe this work as sensual and playful, even erotic. This piece centers around a young woman and her lover. She is sitting on a swing, her skirt up as she kicks off her shoe. He is hiding in the bushes underneath, gazing up her skirt. To the right of the girl and in deep shadow is an older man, who knows nothing about their love. To commence, Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s painting, The Swing, shows all of the five types of line. To begin, this painting incorporates vertical lines. The white piece of the girl’s...
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...The Swing | Relatable Symbols of Then and Now | | Symbolism and allegory have always been prevalent themes in art, but before the 18th century, they appeared in western art mainly existed in religious, history, and philosophical painting. During the 18th century this changed as the art world shifted towards more secular subjects and settings. Jean- Honoré Fragonard in his 1766 painting The Swing (figure 1) uses symbolism and allegory to convey a scene of eroticism, scandal, and hidden meaning. Even though it was painted 250 years ago, these hidden meanings are still understandable and relevant today. Jean Honoré Fragonard was born at Grasse on April 5, 1732 where he lived until 15 years of age. His father, Francois Fragonard, went to live in Paris soon after his son’s 15th birthday where it was decided that his son should earn his living as a junior clerk in a notary’s office. This was not a suitable career for Honoré who was perpetually drawing and showed considerable artistic aptitude. The notary that he worked for advised the family to send their son to study under some painter saying, "For he will do far more good in copying pictures than he has ever done in transcribing deeds." Fragonard’s mother first took him to Francois Boucher, who was now at the height of his career. The great artist however was not in the habit of receiving amateur pupils and sent him to study under Chardin for 6 months. Fragonard made little progress, and Chardin informed his family...
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...the delusion of ‘authentic’. Distinctively Shonibare uses textiles that are made in Europe based off Indonesian design that were then sold off and became widely popular in African countries. Due to the influx of Africans wearing this material, the patterns of the textiles became immersed in visual culture and, although are not legitimate, have become known as ‘authentic African wear’. In his sculpture works Shonibare also takes away any real identification of the nationality of his figures. Often adorned in Victorian style clothing made with the ‘African’ textiles, the mannequins are always beheaded with no form of facial identity. Two of his sculptural pieces that reflect his experiences in colonial issues between his nations are ‘The Swing’ and ‘How to blow up two heads at...
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...Art and Culture Comparison The Renaissance, considered to be a time of rebirth, was within 1400-1600. The art during this time period consisted mainly of mythological figures and nudes. This art was inspired by the Classical world of Greece. Furthermore, the Baroque period, often referred to as a time of exploration and discovery, occurred during the seventeenth century. Baroque artwork is much like that of Renaissance art. The difference, however, is the much stronger portrayal of emotion within Baroque art. The Art of Europe and America followed after the Art of the Renaissance and Baroque period. This art era occurred between 1700-1900 when there was disarray between European and American societies. This hysteria eventually caused many societal changes to occur—referred to as the Enlightenment or The Age of Reason. During both of these eras, artists created their works from the turn of events that they were experiencing among society and would show reflections of their concerns of what was taking place through their art. Since the beginning of time, art has been inspired by several different aspects and created for numerous purposes. For example, some works of art were solely created for storytelling, and other works for memorial reasons. However, the significance of a work of art is not merely established because of its purpose for being created, but because of the piece’s symbolism, content, and form within each artwork instead. It is seen all throughout history that...
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...Rococo Art This paper defines and illustrates the Rococo movement. Rococo art was a highly sensual, light hearted movement and the art of this period greatly reflected a common way of thinking during this time. Art History II Rococo, meaning literally embedded pebble started in France at the beginning of the 18th Century, gaining popularity during the reign of Louis XV. (Rococo 1700 - 1775) Art from the Rococo movement was a reaction to the darker, heavier Baroque movement. The death of Louis the XIV brought about big changes to art and the patronage of art and the Rococo movement was one of these changes. (Kleiner, Fred S., and Helen Gardner) The start of the Rococo movement can be credited primarily to the death of Louis XIV. Upon the abandonment of Versailles by the French Nobility, they moved into Paris, and wanted to move away from the solemn Baroque style of the Palace of Versailles. So when the French court moved back into Paris, they redecorated their homes using the delicate forms and colors which would later be known as Rococo (A Brief History of Rococo Art). The Rococo movement started with interior design but soon made its way into other areas of art as well. (Rococo style | design) Rococo art, especially in architecture and interior design features natural elements such as shells, floral or leaf patterns ("Rococo Style," ). The art and architecture of this movement used highly organic forms (Style Guide: Rococo). An important and notable example of...
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