The Swing ("L'Escarpolette") 1789

Editor: Here we have “The Swing,” created around 1789 by the Oberkampf Manufactory. It's a printed textile piece. I'm struck by how dense the composition is; it feels very layered and decorative. What can you tell me about it? Curator: Looking at the textile production, we need to consider Oberkampf’s manufactory as a crucial element. This wasn’t just design, but industrialized art. The repetitive motifs, idyllic scenes...it all speaks to a rising consumer culture. How does the material itself – a printed textile – change our understanding of “high art” themes, like the swing scene? Editor: That’s interesting! So, it’s not just the image but how it was made and for whom? Does the choice of textile mean it wasn't intended for the same audience as, say, a painting of a similar subject? Curator: Exactly. We are prompted to challenge traditional art historical hierarchies. Textile production involved labour, trade, and a specific kind of consumption. Consider the labour involved. Think of the accessibility. This print brought the elite fantasy of leisure depicted to a wider, potentially middle-class audience through replicable means. Editor: It's fascinating to consider art as a product of manufacturing and accessible, instead of solely focusing on the artist's individual genius. Curator: Right. The textile medium alters how the artwork functions within society, connecting artistic expression with everyday use, economic systems and class dynamics of late 18th-century France. What do you make of its existence on the eve of the French Revolution? Editor: Perhaps it reveals the priorities of the age, the concerns and fantasies of those who could afford it, just before everything changed. I never thought about textiles holding so much significance! Curator: Thinking about the materiality and mode of production can radically transform how we interpret images.