The Swing

In 18th-century French erotic emblem books, the act of a slipper or shoe coming off in mid-air was a coded reference to the imminent shedding of clothing; the flying slipper functioned as a polite way to picture undress without picturing nudity. The painting was commissioned by Baron de Saint-Julien for his mistress. He wanted himself painted into the rose- bushes at the bottom left, with a clear sightline up her skirt. The man pushing the swing from behind is her elderly husband, oblivious. Now at The Wallace Collection, London @wallacemuseum