The Swing By Jena-Honore Fragonard: A Comparative Analysis

The Rococo and Neoclassical visual arts have come to define the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Each resulted from popular culture, influence, and reform, yet had an impact on one another. The Rococo painter exhibited whimsical scenes, sometimes scandalous, bathed in softer color shades while the neoclassical painter sought to give emphasis to tradition and nationalism. To elucidate these variances, this author will use famed “The Swing” by Jena-Honore Fragonard to contrast against the neoclassical painting “The Oath of the Horatii” by Jacques-Louis David – the most important painter of the reign of Louis XVI.
As a result of the Louis XIV’s totalitarian reign, France became a superpower and a cultural icon. The reign of Louis XIV brought a sort self-service and ambition, encouraging those within the court to climb the political ladder. Consequentially, many nobles would vie for the sovereign’s attention, …show more content…
In antiquity, a willingness to preserve patriotism or die for principle was paramount. These ideals opposed what was currently the state of France; self-centered aristocracy’s desire for luxury above the good of the state. Philosophers criticized societal blemishes during a time when there was unease with the monarchy and neoclassic artists incorporated political narrative messages through their artwork.
David’s “The Oath of the Horatii” breaks from the Rococo by order of simplicity and moral conduct. The design includes emotion (male figures taking oath contrasting with the female figures who seem to be lamenting), devotion (by way of a firm hand across the waist of a comrade), and unity through virtuous behavior (sacrifice for principle). In the end, the depicted message associates the ideals of philosophes and existing abuses of the rulers and their disregard for the citizens; a voluminous message that speaks of a return to a period of a patriarchic