This is a bit of an unconventional analyzation of art but I hope you'll find it to be interesting! I'll also be discussing the history and symbolism of each painting while ultimately trying to support
I'm starting with the Admiring from Afar stage: where this relationship seems unattainable yet you are crushing hard, where everything is rose colored glasses but also one sided adoration. I think Jean-Honoré Fragonard's The Swing (1767 or 1768) fits this stage.
Let's first dissect the history and the symbolism. Amidst a lush garden, a woman with a soft pink gown swings up and through the air gracefully. Her swing is held with a pair of ropes that lap over the tree. Near the far right, nearly the depths of the shadows, is an older man, who gives the swing its momentum. Depicted at the cusp of the swing, just when it's time to fall back, she leans back and allows her shoe to fall forward, seemingly aimed at the statue. Below lies her admirer, a young man. Hidden by the rose bush, it seems that the older man can't spot him and his look up her dress.
Created by Fragonard, a French artist, and presumably requested by a gentleman of the court (Baron Louis-Guillaume Baillet de Saint-Julien) to depict himself and his lover, this painting is playful and somewhat deviant from what was accepted. Small (only 81 x 64.2 cm), this painting was "intended for display in intimate rooms known as cabinets. Admiring the painting in the privacy of such a space, the patron and his inner circle would have appreciated its depiction of societal norms subverted for the pursuit of personal pleasure."
Likewise, pleasure is the overlying theme of this painting. Swinging, a leisure activity, meant that "the period’s established rules of social etiquette were often bent." Furthermore, the landscape's use of both manmade and natural elements depict the contrast between the attempts to manipulate nature while letting natural things (overgrown plants, abandoned rake) to run wild -- much like that of love.
Another symbol that I nearly mistook for a bunch of flowers: "the yapping white dog (a common symbol of fidelity) at the husband’s feet seems to sound the alarm on the woman’s bawdy behavior." I did not notice him until I zoomed down to the older man's feet: this symbolism is truly so intricate. As Dr. Ashley Bruckbauer says, "The Swing draws us in through a mixture of visual humor, double entendre, and loaded symbols that reward close looking. Like the woman swinging back-and-forth, our attention is swiftly drawn between the many rich details sprinkled across the painted canvas."
Ultimately, I don't think this painting is super full of critique or judgement: while symbols are rampant, it seems more fun, lost in its own world, acknowledging the restraints of the life outside of the garden but still fenced in by the wall.
Just like the ecstasy of the swoop of the swing, the beginning of something beautiful is present. I think the greenery and the sunlight of this painting really sells this comparison for me: everything is soft, buttery yellow, ethereal. Drawing comparisons, it seem that within the context of a relationship, you remain aware of your crush's past (her lurking husband the old man blissfully unaware of anything) yet can only focus on their perfection. The inverted V shape (much like a squat triangle) "visually reinforces their individual roles in this love triangle" and it seems to me that the old man pushes her out on the swing, expecting her to return. Yet, she remains ready to break free and wants to live her own life.
Likewise, the falling shoe (seems to me) that she's tossing her admirer a little token of gratitude or flirtation, much like small interactions that build up your crush and keep you coming back for more. It also points at the statue of Cupid, who seemingly shares a secret (the man hiding below, much in love) with the woman.
Sources:
Dr. Ashley Bruckbauer, "Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing," in Smarthistory, February 26, 2021, accessed December 19, 2021, https://smarthistory.org/jean-honore-fragonard-the-swing/.
Alina Cohen, "Undressing the Erotic Symbolism in “The Swing,” Fragonard’s Decadent Masterpiece." Sep 9, 2019. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-9-key-insights-auction-market-2021
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