Les Hazards Heureux De L'Escapolettes (The Happy Accident of the Swing)
1792
Medium
Engraving and etching in black ink on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
Image/plate: 58.2 × 42.5 cm (22 15/16 × 16 3/4 in.); Sheet: 60.2 × 44.5 cm (23 3/4 × 17 9/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
111848
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Fragonard painted his masterpiece, The Swing after another artist had refused the risqué commission offered by a gentleman of the English court who wanted a portrait of himself surreptitiously observing his mistress on a swing. The result epitomized the themes and unapologetically decorative flounces of the Rococo style. In this print the airy textures of the painting have been transformed into elegantly engraved patterns befitting the motion, outdoor setting, and eroticism of the scene.