Jean-Honore Fragonard

The Swing — Rococo exuberance

The last and most spirited painter of the Rococo. The Swing — a young woman kicked aloft by her lover while a bishop pushes from behind — is the era's signature image: playful, erotic, and painted with a feathery brilliance. The Revolution ended his world; he died in obscurity under Napoleon.

Key works

• The Swing1767— Rococo in a single image — pleasure, secrecy, color
  Wallace Collection, London
• The Progress of Love1771-1773— Four panels for Madame du Barry — rejected, now at the Frick
  Frick Collection, New York

Connections

External