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The Swing
Jean Honoré Fragonard·c. 1775/1780
Historical Context
The Swing (c. 1775-80), at the National Gallery of Art, is one of Fragonard's treatments of the swinging motif — a subject he explored multiple times and that became one of the defining images of the Rococo era. The swing's pendulum motion, combining the sensations of freedom and danger, carried erotic associations in eighteenth-century French culture, and Fragonard's versions explore these connotations with characteristic visual wit. This version should be distinguished from his most famous Swing (1767, Wallace Collection), though it treats similar themes of flirtation and pleasure in an aristocratic garden setting.
Technical Analysis
The painting features Fragonard's mature technique with broad, fluid strokes creating a lush garden setting. The central figure on the swing is captured in dynamic movement, with billowing drapery and flying hair rendered with energetic brushwork. The warm palette of greens, golds, and soft pinks creates a sun-dappled, Arcadian atmosphere.
Provenance
Casimir Perrin, marquis de Cypierre [1783-1844], Paris; (his estate sale, at his residence by Thoré, Paris, 10 March 1845 and days following, no. 52 or 53).[1] possibly marquise de Montesquiou-Fezensac, Paris;[2] Camille Groult [1837-1908], Paris, possibly from 1889, to1908.[3] (Wildenstein & Co., New York); sold February 1954 to the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York;[4] gift 1961 to NGA. [1] This is the first confirmed record of the painting. For discussion of possible earlier provenance now rejected by scholars, see Richard Rand's entry on this painting and its pendant, _Blindman's Buff_ (NGA 1961.9.16), in Philip Conisbee, et al., _French Paintings of the Fifteenth through the Eighteenth Century_, The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue, Washington, 2009: 199, 202 nn. 13, 14. [2] The pair of paintings were possibly the two Fragonards sold from the Montesquiou-Fezensac collection to Henri Haro, buying for Camille Groult, prior to its 1897 sale at Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 19 March 1897; see Colin Eisler, _Paintings from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: European Schools Excluding Italian_, Oxford, 1977: 331 n. 17. [3] Groult's ownership was incorrectly given as "until at least 1889" in the provenance for the painting published in the NGA's 2009 catalogue (see note 1). Thanks to correspondence from Olafur Thorvaldsson (e-mail of 27 September 2019, in NGA curatorial files), Groult's ownership can be further clarified. Groult was given as the owner of the paintings in publications of 1889 (Portalis; who actually places only NGA 1961.9.16 in Groult's collection, and confuses the provenances of three paintings in his entry), 1906 (Nolhac), 1908 (Flament; kindly sent to NGA by Mr. Thorvaldsson), and 1927 (Reau). If Groult did not acquire the paintings until 1897 (see note 2 about this possibility), the 1889 publication is in error. Since Groult died in 1908, the 1927 publication must have meant he was a former owner, although it is possible the painting was inherited by his son, Jean Groult (1868-1951). The painting was not included in the 21 March 1952 sale of the Groult collection. [4] The bill of sale (copy in NGA curatorial files, see also The Kress Collection Digital Archive, https://kress.nga.gov/Detail/objects/2302) is dated February 10, 1954, and was for a total of fourteen paintings; payments by the Foundation continued to March 1957.
