I find the plants “ The Swing ” and “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” great chef-d’oeuvres with interesting historical and cultural backgrounds and stylistic characteristics which need to be penetrated into in order to uncover the differences and similarities of these outstanding plants.
Frequently at historiographers underlined that during Baroque the Roman Catholic Church had to stamp down multiple new signifiers of society, faith and scientific discipline known as Reformation. Furthermore the manner of Baroque had to reconstruct the prestigiousness of Papacy. The fiercest struggle in Baroque times was the Thirty Years War – the war between Catholics and Protestants. In the seventeenth century though Europe faced many important alterations in fiscal systems, life styles and trade organisation. Besides, during the Baroque times there were many of import scientific finds: such outstanding scientists as Galileo and Newton made their part to science through mathematics and assorted experiments. That ‘s why it is possible to name Baroque a mixture of rationalism, sensualness and spiritual context.
The writer of the picture “ The Swing ” ( 1767 ) or “ The Happy Accidents of the Swing ” is Jean-Honore Fragonard, a Gallic painter who is widely known all over the universe. The picture is a work of art of the era of Rococo – luxuriant high manner. “ The Swing ” is an oil canvas painting mensurating 81 cm x 64.2 centimeter, which soon is the portion of the Wallace Collection in London.
The clip period the “ The Swing ” was being made may be characterized as the era of reigning of King Lois XV ; when the society was overwhelmed with push for epicurean manner. The Duke of Orleans who succeeded King Lois XIV in 1715. After that there appeared a inclination of decreasing the formal tribunals and flourishing of the salons. Therefore, the reign of Lois XV was the clip of happy and joyous clip disbursement ; people were endeavoring for basking and diverting their lives. Rococo still had elements of Baroque: elaborated signifiers and sophisticated forms.
The celebrated piece of art “ The Swing ” lets us see a immature beauty in wonderfully colored fluxing aired frock and a voguish chapeau. The image shows us a garden where the miss has swings, pushed by her likely shady lover from a big monolithic tree in the right manus corner of the paining. This adult male is a bishop, so the relationships of the two lovers are decidedly secret. Besides we may happen another adult male on the picture: a immature chap who watches the singing beauty from behind the shrubs. There are some peculiarly titillating inside informations: alongside with traveling high on the swing the legs of the beautiful miss become easy seen by a adult male. The particular light feeling we besides get detecting how heedlessly the girl Lashkar-e-Taibas off one of her places in the air.
The two figures of the sculpture group “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” represent the episode of Teresa of Avila, a mystical reformist and nun, experience written in her autobiography. She described the vision she had where a immature delicate angel was standing aside her organic structure.We see on the sculpture the long lance of gold in the custodies of the angel and on the point of it there is a fire. An angel came to pierce her with his pointer. Teresa told that it was a great hurting, but non bodily, but religious. Nevertheless she felt satisfied with nil but God. And Bernini managed to picture all this. The episode takes topographic point on a cloud, where Teresa is in a big robe with many heavy creases. Her eyes are half shut, her moth opened in a groan ; and it seems that she is incognizant of what is go oning around her. She has soft custodies and au naturel pess. The angel alternatively is smiling ; it is standing near the saint with a aureate pointer in his manus. He obviously has merely pierced her.
“ The Swing ” is a really joyous and cheerful picture due to its rich pallet of soft colourss ; moreover the miss has really delicate motions and lines, therefore, the picture to the full corresponds to the Rococo characteristics: privilege is given more to the beauty, non the deepness of significance. Brightness adds much infinite to the paining. Besides there it ‘s deserving adverting that there is no solid state in the work at all ; everything is depicted quietly and really finely. The manner Fragonard performed his picture is fresh and consistent. Looking at the picture we have a opportunity to experience aristocratically epicurean and joyous amusements. Furthermore it has many good organized gentle inside informations which add erotism in the message the painter is endeavoring to give to the audience. Another of import thing to add is the pyramidic form of the swing itself. The flight of the swing suggests an unobserved but bing point which is high in the trees where the swing is tied to. By and large the design of the picture “ The Swing ” is complex, but really harmonious.
The stylistic characteristics of a sculpture “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” are really keen and complex. Probably the chief part to the Baroque manner we may happen in Bernini ‘s transverberation. The sculpture is lighted from a concealed window above it. The white marble figures are shimmering in the aureate visible radiation. The curtain of the sculpture may be evaluated as instead heavy with monolithic broad creases. Looking at Saint Teresa we feel as though her motions correspond to the Earth gravitation ; it even seems the Earth controls her gestures. Comparing the motions and gestures of Saint Teresa with those of angels we see that the motions of latter are slightly lighter and smaller. Bernini managed to make a relationship between the viewing audiences and the sculpture alike those in the theatre between the audience and the public presentation. Besides Bernini is known for his ability to unite assorted textures with marble. The sculpture perfectly reflects the Baroque emotional manner so – we see the mix of ideals of play and ornamentation. Bernini added some titillating animal inside informations to his piece of art.
There are some of import figures in the picture “ The Swing ” which give us some glances to symbolic minutes in the work. For illustration, the bishop forcing the swing is nobody else but a symbol of hubby, while the adult male concealment in the flora is a secret lover. Therefore, we may understand that the chief message of the picture is to demo the double-nature of people on the whole and the procedure of unfaithfulness itself. We may detect how the miss ca n’t do up her head whether to stay with her hubby or bask her thrilling love matter. Talking about the symbolism in “ The Swing ” it is necessary to perforate into the cultural background of the work. As a affair of fact swing and peeping as childhood games are the sort of iconography of rococo epoch ; nevertheless utilizing these games in the context of grownup universe add them want and childish natural joy of motion and drama. Another of import thing to reference is that fluxing frock besides symbolizes the loss of virginity.
The scene of the sculpture ( as it was antecedently mentioned ) was chosen so that above the sculpture a concealed window was located. The twenty-four hours light meant to typify Holy Spirit. The au naturel pess of Saint Teresa are aimed to do analogy to the Disclased Carmelites. The pointer which pierces Saint Teresa embodies the freshness of fire. The sculpture gives us a position with Saint Teresa in the province of glorifying come typifying the Sleep of God. The sculpture let us watch how God penetrates into the adult female ‘s psyche. Furthermore this consequence is reinforced by the heavy stuff the sculpture is made of picturing the religious thoughts.
It goes without stating that the pieces of art “ The Swing ” and “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” tantrum both for contrasting and comparison. Among the point I would wish to underscore among the differences of these two chef-d’oeuvres is first of all the different manners they are created harmonizing to. In “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” , which is an incarnation of Baroque we see powerful Saint Teresa, sing her triumphal brotherhood with God, while “ The Swing ” provides us with light fresh feeling of flirtation and amusement, holding non so deep message and more cheerful and even blithe intimations. Furthermore we experience different feelings looking at each of the chosen works due to the signifier of their manifestation: “ The Swing ” is a picture with delicate and natural colourss, without any solid tones, while Saint Teresa is embodied in heavy marble and bronze, have oning monolithic robe with big creases. The messages of the plants differ greatly: while “ The Swing ” represents unfaithfulness, “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” makes us chew over over brotherhood with God.
However there are some of import similarities between the plants. Obviously, both pieces of art show us animal context: soft custodies and au naturel pes of Saint Teresa and her half opened eyes manifest religious rapture, but we get some titillating signals anyhow ; ‘The Swinging ” allow us see the adult male holding a opportunity of peeping over the legs of the beauty. In both plants we may detect soft lines and delicate gestures of Teresa and the miss in “ The Swing ” . Another characteristic to compare is the perfect depiction of motion on both plants: we unmistakable percept the natural motions though the motions in “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” are heavier so in “ The Swing ” .
The picture “ The Swing ” was created in the period of Rococo and the sculpture “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” is a graphic illustration of the Baroque manner. The plants “ The Swing ” and “ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa ” belong to different manners, be had possibility to analyse non merely their differences, but besides some of the similarities between them. Although the message, deepness of significance, general temper and public presentation of these pieces of art differ, we may follow some similarities such as concealed erotism and naturalism of motions.
