The Swinging 1760s

Back in 1766 this was scandalous. Painted by Jean-Honore Fragonard as a commission from a French nobleman, it depicts a girl on a swing, allowing a man in the bushes a look up her skirt. At the same time, she is throwing off a shoe to symbolise the loss of virginity, whilst a priest provides the inertia. Cheeky little madam then.

Like many of the best works, it was both vilified for its shocking subject matter, and praised for its technical brilliance... the use of light is cinematic, even by todays finely tuned standards of gloss and finish.

To transpose the technicality and social relevance to a more contemporary setting, it could be said both Gregory Crewdson and David Lachapelle reference aspects of the work... There are definitely echoes of the atmosphere Fragonard created in Crewdson's widescreen work, and both the colour and playfullness/
shock-factor Lachapelle has forged a career from seem to be evident in early form here...

Furthermore, there are even early elements of kitsch; by todays benchmarks at least... not only the shade of pink, but by the cherubs and the overall tone. In fact, Yinka Shonibare worked off this very notion in 2004, with his Turner Prize entry; reinventing the painting sculpturally...

So then, is the painting a pebble that's been creating ripples ever since, or simply an early example of pop-culture defining the boundaries of social taste?