The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard: what it depicts
The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard
A slipper in the air
In a green, overgrown corner of a garden, a young woman in a froth of pink silk swings out towards the viewer, and one small shoe flies from her foot. Below her, sprawled in a rose bush with his hat held out, a young man has the best view in the picture. In the shadows at the right an older man works the swing by its ropes, apparently unaware. On the left a statue of Cupid, after Falconet, holds a finger to his lips and keeps the secret.
A commission with a joke in it
According to the memoirs of the playwright Charles Collé, a gentleman of the court first asked the painter Gabriel-François Doyen for a picture of his mistress on a swing pushed by a bishop, with himself placed where he could see her legs. Doyen declined and suggested Fragonard. In the finished painting the bishop has become an older man in ordinary clothes. Fragonard paints it all with a quick, light touch, and the pink of the dress is the brightest thing in a picture made mostly of green and shadow.
Where it hangs
It hangs in the Wallace Collection, London, and measures 81 by 64.2 centimetres.
About this print
Made from a 5,373-pixel photograph of the original, enough to print sharply at up to about 35 inches on its longest side.
Sources: The Wallace Collection, London · Wikidata Q2629559 · Wikimedia Commons
Who Made It
Created by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Painted in 1767. Oil on Canvas.
All Available Options
Below is a list of all available sizes and product types.
| Type | Size | Color | Price | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas | 8″ x 10″ (Vertical) | - | $31.52 | In Stock |
| Canvas | 9" x 12" (Vertical) | - | $32.98 | In Stock |
| Canvas | 11″ x 14″ (Vertical) | - | $37.49 | In Stock |
| Canvas | 12″ x 16″ (Vertical) | - | $45.19 | In Stock |
| Canvas | 16″ x 20″ (Vertical) | - | $53.71 | In Stock |
| Canvas | 18″ x 24″ (Vertical) | - | $50.88 | In Stock |
| Canvas | 20" x 24" (Vertical) | - | $96.36 | In Stock |
| Canvas | 24" x 30" (Vertical) | - | $113.39 | In Stock |
| Canvas | 24" x 32" (Vertical) | - | $113.08 | In Stock |
| Framed | 8″ x 10″ (Vertical) | Black | $56.29 | In Stock |
| Framed | 8″ x 10″ (Vertical) | Espresso | $56.29 | In Stock |
| Framed | 8″ x 10″ (Vertical) | White | $56.29 | In Stock |
| Framed | 9" x 12" (Vertical) | Black | $62.76 | In Stock |
| Framed | 9" x 12" (Vertical) | Espresso | $62.76 | In Stock |
| Framed | 9" x 12" (Vertical) | White | $62.76 | In Stock |
| Framed | 11″ x 14″ (Vertical) | Black | $73.88 | In Stock |
| Framed | 11″ x 14″ (Vertical) | Espresso | $73.88 | In Stock |
| Framed | 11″ x 14″ (Vertical) | White | $73.88 | In Stock |
| Framed | 12″ x 16″ (Vertical) | Black | $87.14 | In Stock |
| Framed | 12″ x 16″ (Vertical) | Espresso | $87.14 | In Stock |
| Framed | 12″ x 16″ (Vertical) | White | $87.14 | In Stock |
| Framed | 16″ x 20″ (Vertical) | Black | $109.97 | In Stock |
| Framed | 16″ x 20″ (Vertical) | Espresso | $109.97 | In Stock |
| Framed | 16″ x 20″ (Vertical) | White | $109.97 | In Stock |
| Framed | 18″ x 24″ (Vertical) | Black | $125.44 | In Stock |
| Framed | 18″ x 24″ (Vertical) | Espresso | $125.44 | In Stock |
| Framed | 18″ x 24″ (Vertical) | White | $125.44 | In Stock |
| Framed | 20" x 24" (Vertical) | Black | $140.18 | In Stock |
| Framed | 20" x 24" (Vertical) | Espresso | $140.18 | In Stock |
| Framed | 20" x 24" (Vertical) | White | $140.18 | In Stock |
| Framed | 24" x 30" (Vertical) | Black | $205.49 | In Stock |
| Framed | 24" x 30" (Vertical) | Espresso | $205.49 | In Stock |
| Framed | 24" x 30" (Vertical) | White | $205.49 | In Stock |
| Framed | 24" x 32" (Vertical) | Black | $181.92 | In Stock |
| Framed | 24" x 32" (Vertical) | Espresso | $181.92 | In Stock |
| Framed | 24" x 32" (Vertical) | White | $181.92 | In Stock |
Image: source, Public domain (work and photograph).
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