The symbolism behind Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing
Jean-Honoré Fragonard's best-known painting The Swing, originally known as The Happy Accidents of the Swing, is encapsulating humor and joie de vivre of the Rococo. The identity of the patron who commissioned this painting has eluded art historians. French dramatist Charles Collé noted in October 1767 that artist Gabriel-François Doyen had met an unnamed 'gentleman of the Court' "in his pleasure house with his mistress". He was commissioned to paint his young mistress on a swing, pushed by a bishop with himself admiring her legs from below. Doyen, uneasy about taking on such an indecorous subject, suggested Fragonard who readily agreed. As it was, Fragonard replaced the bishop with the more traditional figure of a cuckolded husband, but otherwise fulfilled the commission almost to the letter.
The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard is the greatest painting of the Rococo style
The Swing, also known as The Happy Accidents of the Swing from 1767, is the most famous painting by the French painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard. It is considered to be one of the masterpieces of the Rococo era painting. The combination of carefree attitude and playfulness in the reflection of eroticism, pastel swirls, and pastoral landscape create an image of the beauty of youth and a forbidden love affair. Today, this painting is in the Wallace Collection in London.
Rembrandt's Preparatory Drawings Isaac and Rebecca based on an earlier print by Sisto Badolocchio after Raphael's fresco in the Vatican
Raphael and members of his workshop, among them Giulio Romano, Gianfrancesco Penni, Vincenzo Tamagni, Perin del Vaga and Polidoro da Caravaggio, executed the cycle of the Bible stories in a loggia on the second floor of the Palazzi Pontifici in Vatican. The episodes were painted in the ceiling vaults, within differently shaped frames. The fresco Isaac and Rebecca Spied upon by Abimelech in 1518-1519 is a part of these Bible episodes. Rembrandt van Rijn based his drawing Isaac and Rebecca on a 1607 etching by Italian artist Sisto Badolocchio which itself derives from this ceiling fresco which was created in High Renaissance style.
Isaac and Rebecca, drawing preparatory study for a portrait of a couple in a historical allegory of Isaac and Rebecca, known today as The Jewish Bride
The most popular theory today is that the painting The Jewish Bride by Rembrandt van Rijn depicts the Old Testament figures of Isaac and Rebecca. This is supported by an earlier drawing by Rembrandt (pen and brown ink) Isaac and Rebecca Spied upon by Abimelech from about 1662 that is considered to be a study for double portrait The Jewish Bride. Rembrandt probably choose the subject after he had seen a print after a fresco by Raphael. A drawing is now in a private collection in the United States.
The Jewish Bride is one of the great baroque portraits of Rembrandt van Rijn
Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of a Couple as Isaac and Rebecca from around 1667, commonly known as The Jewish Bride, is an example of the aging Rembrandt at his finest. This double portrait acquired the title of The Jewish Bride in the early nineteenth century when an art collector in Amsterdam interpreted the painting as a Jewish father who hung a necklace to his daughter on her wedding day. Nowadays many art historians disagree with this interpretation. Some believe the two figures portrayed are lovers or a married couple and others think it represents a biblical couple. Also, some have suggested that the painting shows Rembrandt's son Titus and his wife. The painting is now housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Honeysuckle Bower by Peter Paul Rubens is a loving portrait of the couple
Shortly after his return after eight years in Italy, the 32-year-old Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens married the 18-year-old Isabella Brant on 3 October 1609. The same year he painted a double portrait Honeysuckle Bower where the artist has a self-portrait and a portrait of his wife. The full title of this painting from 1609-1610 is The Artist and his First Wife, Isabella Brant, in the Honeysuckle Bower. This painting is entitled Honeysuckle Bower and housed in the Alte Pinakothek Gallery in Munich.