From Rococo Art to "Frozen"

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) was a French painter who specialized in light, playful paintings -- one was of a mildly risqué nature. Perhaps his most famous, and certainly most reproduced, painting was "The Swing."

The scene depicted is that of a young woman being pushed in a swing by an older man. Unseen below is a young man looking upward at her as she generously displays her legs for his viewing pleasure while swinging. (Back in the time depicted, ladies did not wear pants.)  She teasingly kicks one of her sandals in the air.

The Disney movie, "Frozen," incorporated a similar scene with Anna being the girl on the swing. However, there is no peeping Tom in the bushes to appreciate her well-turned ankle and more. Still, it is unmistakably a scene in homage to Fragonard's original painting.

Part of the charm of the rococo style in art is that it is largely non-serious rather than pompous or bombastic. As such, it fits in well with cartoon settings.