François Boucher Leda and the Swan 1742 Oil on canvas LACMA Wings beat, feathers fly, beak clamps shut only to open again releasing a sharp screech. Leda, mortal queen of Sparta, struggles to get away, fearing for her life. Helpless and vulnerable against strong and powerful, Zeus disguised as a swan has his way with her. This is the image that W.B. Yeats’ poem Leda and the Swan, published in 1924, instills in the reader. The image is accompanied by feelings of “the helplessness, the terror, the horror of closeness imposed” (1), similar to the girl. Yeats moves from the rape of Leda by Zeus, to the fall of the city of Troy and the murder of Agamemnon, King of Mycenae. The myth of Leda and the Swan, originating in from Greek mythology, has been a popular one since the Renaissance, revisited over and over again and represented in many different artistic forms, from paintings to sculpture to poetry. Some artists prefer to depict the act as what it really is: the violent rape of an innocent woman by a God, taking advantage of his powers to get exactly what he desires. However, the French painter François Boucher (1703-1770) chose to use his artistic creativity and social notoriety to display Leda and the Swan in a very different way. In Boucher’s 1742 rendition of Leda and the Swan, one can observe characteristic colors, figures, and landscapes as he alters the event of Leda’s rape into an erotic fantasy scene between women for the viewing pleasure of the 18th century French public. François Boucher is a well-known figure, representative of the Rococo period of art, one characterized by “soft colors and curvy lines, and [depicting] scenes of love, nature, amorous encounters, light-hearted entertainment, and youth” (2). The Father of Rococo is often considered to be Jean-Antoine Watteau (1682-1721), who went as far as to create his own genre of painting: the fêtes galantes. These scenes depicted light-hearted gatherings of aristocrats in contemporary dress, settled in fantastical and pastoral scenes (fig. 1). His color palette was determined by pastel greens, blues, pinks, and purples, as scenes were often depicted with hazy backgrounds, and people each with similarly small, pinched faces. While Watteau may be the Father of Rococo, Boucher took this early style of genre painting and developed it into the mature, recognizable style of flowing and dreamy mid-eighteenth century France, just before the Revolution and the evolution of sharp-edged Neoclassicism. As Boucher’s painting career was established in France, he initially focused on large-scale mythological paintings, as displayed by his reception piece for admission to the Royal Academy in 1734, Rinaldo and Armida (fig. 2). In this image, one can discern many Watteau-like qualities: small, pinched faces with rosy cheeks, an unspecified and fantastical setting, and a bright color palette. However, Boucher adds his own elements in the exposed breasts of the woman, and an abundant collection of lavish garments and fabrics, complete with a small putti holding up a mirror. These additions suggest Boucher’s interest in the human body, specifically that of a woman, as well as his attentiveness to the vanity and lavishness of upper-class French culture at this time. Being born a son of a member of the Académie de Saint-Luc, as well as winning the Prix de Rome at the early age of 20, Boucher’s interest in art is understandable. It can be proposed that Boucher was very interested in painting for the purpose of pleasing other people as his career progressed. Especially as he obtained the premier title of First Painter to the King in 1765, as well as becoming the director of the French Royal Academy in the same year, he painted to please his French viewers and critics. As Boucher began mostly interested in large-scale allegorical paintings, he arguably used this platform to display semi-erotic scenes, commonly displaying topless women. To avoid additional criticism, Boucher embedded these themes of eroticism in adaptations of mythological stories, from that of Rinaldo and Armida in 1734 (fig. 2), to the triumph of Venus in 1740 (fig. 3), and even continuing to the period of his Pompadour commissions in 1751, that display Venus, Goddess of love and beauty (fig. 4-5). The bodies of his nude women usually seem to be unsuspecting of the viewer, relaxed in their poses, with young, delicate features, soft skin, round breasts, and rosy cheeks (on the face and other). The setting may range from lavishly decorated castles, to tumbling ocean waves, or to a picturesque pastoral landscape. The specific portrait of Leda and the Swan that is the subject of this analysis falls in the middle of his career, around 1742. As previously discussed, the story of Leda and the Swan is one that has survived from Greek mythology and, while less well-known in contemporary times than those of Hercules, the divine hero, or Atlas, who holds the world on his back, it was a common subject for artists of the 18th century. Boucher’s rendition displays his, and the Rococo’s, characteristic pastel colors and gentle curved lines; no sharp edges visible. The swan’s feathers look as if they would be soft to the touch, fluffy and innocent white. The bodies of Leda and the additional woman look just as other women do in Boucher paintings: young and vibrant, comfortable in their positions, with perfectly clear skin, rosy cheeks of all kinds, and delicate facial features. The shed garments look as if they might belong to upper-class women, this hypothesis further supported by the visible pearls on the wrist and in the hair of the woman on the left. They seem to be in a picturesque natural setting, almost as if they are hidden from the rest of the world, complete with clear and flowing stream. It is not easy to determine which of these women may be Leda, the subject of the myth. This is because no other woman is discussed in that story. Boucher simply added another woman in order to display another nude female body. The fact that both women are nude adds a slight homosexual air. As this painting was displayed in the Salon of 1742, Boucher probably viewed this mythological scene as one he could get away with adding another nude figure. Her appearance was not necessarily needed, as the only thing she really brings to the scene is an additional erotic presence. Her pose is purely sensual, and one that he goes back to time and again, as seen in one of his later portraits, Reclining Girl (1751) (fig. 6). Boucher had been both praised and criticized by his treatment of women’s bodies. He was praised for his excellent depiction of their curves and flesh, while being criticized for his objectification of their gender. This portrait of Leda and the Swan embodies both sides of this spectrum: the bodies are incredibly portrayed, but the addition of the second body is purely for viewing pleasure: objectified as an image for the singular purpose of examination and perception. The original mythology, as well as Yeates’ poem, describe a horrific scene of Zeus the Swan taking advantage of a young woman, while Boucher completely alters the perception of the story. Therefore, in Boucher’s 1742 rendition of Leda and the Swan, one can observe beautifully characteristic colors, figures, and landscapes, while he turns the event of Leda’s rape into an erotic event between women simply for the viewing pleasure of the 18th century French public. (1) Leo Spitzer , "On Yeats's Poem "Leda and the Swan"," Modern Philology 51, no. 4 (May, 1954): 271-276. (2) Trapasso, Erica. "A Brief History of Rococo Art." Artnet News. Artnet News, 10 Mar. 2015. Anatolia, Antalya, Turkey is the modern location of the ancient city of Troy, site of the Trojan War, that Yeates' discusses in his 1924 poem. This is a rather long, but interesting and informational documentary of French art from the beginning of the Rococo era, up to the Revolution, and including development of the Neoclassical genre.
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