Interpreting Stories in a Painting

       Last Saturday I learned about different styles of art used in France. One thing about art is that I enjoy it but it has always been hard for me to interpret it correctly. After Saturdays seminar I was able to interpret one of the paintings which was called The Swing a rococo painting by Fragonard. This is why rococo is now my favorite style of paintings. Rococo was the outcome of baroque style of painting staring in France in the late 18^th century. This form of painting used more colors and is more playful but was not liked much  because of the themes of the paintings so it came to a quick end. In this blog I posted a few rococo paintings that I enjoyed along with the interpretations of them. I suggest that you should try and interpret paintings before reading it is more exciting that way.

wikkimedia commons: Jean-Honoré Fragonard

When looking this painting, The Swing, I thought the woman in the picture was just having fun on a swing .Then I noticed the man under her just staring up at her and she is swinging her legs seductively. I thought at first maybe it was just me until Ms. Evertt also pointed it out. Looking further into rococo art I learned to start noticing the statues. What I did not notice before was the statues which tell the bigger scandal. First you have Cupid with his finger up to his lips indicating to not say anything looking down at the other two statues. One of the statues is staring up at the woman and the other statue looks away with a sour look on its face as if being displeased. Why would it be displeased?  The man pushing the woman, her husband, does not see the other man under the swing being hidden by the bushes. This is painting indicates an affair going on.

picturalissim: Jean-Honoré Fragonard

 With this painting, The Bolt,I was not so great with. Looking at this I thought the man is about to slap the woman in the painting. His hand is in the air one of her hands is up as if to stop him. when looking up information about the painting there is an opposite meaning of what I thought. The man is locking the door and the woman is supposedly is getting undressed. Then you have the apple being symbolism of the first sin showing that there is a sin soon to be committed.

wikkimedia commons: Jean-Antoine Watteau

 For interpreting this painting, Pilgrimage to Cythera, I went off of the swing painting and paid attention to the statues. I noticed cupid was getting his arrows taken away from him indicating he has been bad. Then you see all these couple together then you know what he has been up to. Going off of other interpretations the same things were said. Then in addition that it is like a progression from the woman in the pink dress to the couples down by the boat the couples become increasingly closer to each other. 

          I am glad I was able to learn about this. It helps me more with understanding art and seeing the symbolism. I found myself becoming more knowledgeable about what different things symbolize. I enjoy being able to just look at a picture and being told the story of it through the symbolism. I also enjoyed the process of having my own interpretation and adding it to what others got from it, the deeper it got the better the story was. This excites me more about possibly going to Paris because I have never been to an art museum so why not start at the best place to go for art. Who knew art could be so intriguing?

                                                                                        -Dazhawna Miller