Artwork
The Swing
The Swing is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Hubert Robert. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
A woman swings high in a leafy park, her dress and dangling shoes flying as she rises. Below, figures lounge on the grass or gather near a stone balustrade, a statue holds a scroll, and a dog rests nearby. Tall trees frame the scene under a soft sky, with light and shadow giving it depth. Hubert Robert painted it around 1750.
Technique & Style
Hubert Robert's The Swing (1750) is executed in oil paint on canvas. The painting measures 173.4 by 87.9 cm. Set in a garden, the composition includes a swing suspended by ropes, a woman, a man, a child at play, a dog, a balustrade, statuary, and trees, among them a blasted tree stump. The sources provide no further information on brushwork, handling, condition, or formal stylistic qualities.
History & Provenance
The Swing, painted by Hubert Robert in 1750, is held in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, identified by accession number 17.190.27. The painting's location and inventory number are recorded in the museum's catalog. No exhibition history is documented in the available sources.
Overview
A central female figure is captured mid-air on a swing, her attire dramatically fanned out.
This oil painting, titled The Swing, depicts an animated outdoor setting. A central female figure is captured mid-air on a swing, her attire dramatically fanned out. Below, various individuals relax on the grass or stand beside a stone balustrade.
The composition includes a classical statue holding a scroll, a reclining dog, and a backdrop of towering trees beneath a soft sky, establishing a vibrant park atmosphere.
Subject & Meaning
The artwork presents a dynamic park gathering, centered on the exhilarating motion of a woman on a swing. Her elevated position and billowing dress suggest a moment of carefree abandon. The surrounding figures, some lounging and others observing, contribute to the scene's social dimension.
Elements like the classical statue and the serene dog add layers to this depiction of leisure and interaction within a natural, yet cultivated, environment.
Artist & collection
Artist
Hubert Robert (French pronunciation:; 22 May 1733 – 15 April 1808) was a French painter in the school of Romanticism, noted especially for his landscape paintings and capricci, or semi-fictitious picturesque depictions of ruins in Italy…
