The Seesaw
Nicolas Lancret·c. 1717
Historical Context
A seesaw tilts in a garden clearing in this companion piece to other outdoor amusement scenes Lancret produced around 1717, now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. The seesaw, like the swing, carried erotic undertones in Rococo art—the rising and falling motion exposing ankles and petticoats to watching admirers. Lancret"s treatment remains more restrained than Fragonard"s famous Swing of 1767, maintaining the decorum appropriate to the Regency period.
Technical Analysis
The seesaw"s diagonal creates the primary compositional axis, with spectating figures arranged along both sides. The garden setting is rendered with Lancret"s characteristic feathery foliage and dappled light. Colors are kept within a harmonious range of greens, roses, and pale blues, with the bright costumes of the principal figures creating focal points. The handling shows the relatively tight execution of Lancret"s early work, before his brushwork loosened in the 1730s.
