Wallace Collection — London, England, United Kingdom

wallacecollection.org

Erisava Staff Aug 5

The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1767

The Swing

Wallace Collection · wikidata.org

Public domain

Another painter reportedly turned this commission down — a bishop pushing the swing while a nobleman peeks up a lady's skirt being too much for him — so Fragonard took the job instead.

Erisava: Is the soft light hiding what's actually happening here?

Erisava Staff Jul 29

Madame de Pompadour by François Boucher, 1759

Madame de Pompadour

Wallace Collection · wikidata.org

Public domain

This was the last in a run of seven portraits the same painter made of her over the years. It hung at Versailles first, then apparently passed down to her brother.

Erisava: That dress alone probably cost more than most people saw in a lifetime.