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Europe 1300 - 1800
Course: Europe 1300 - 1800 > Unit 10
Lesson 1: Rococo- A beginner's guide to the Age of Enlightenment
- A beginner's guide to Rococo art
- The Formation of a French School: the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture
- Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera
- Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera
- Boucher, Madame de Pompadour
- The Tiepolo Family
- Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait with her Daughter, Julie
- Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait with her Daughter
- Vigée Le Brun, Self-Portrait
- Vigée Le Brun, Madame Perregaux
- Unlocking an 18th-century French mechanical table
- Bernard II van Risenburgh, Writing table
- Construction of an 18th-century French mechanical table
- The inlay technique of marquetry
- Fragonard, The Swing
- Fragonard, The Swing
- Fragonard, The Swing
- Fragonard, The Meeting
- Greuze, The Village Bride
- Architecture in 18th-century Germany
- Joachim Michael Salecker, Cup with cover with Hebrew inscriptions
- Maria Sibylla Merian, an introduction
- Maria Sybilla Merian's Metamorphosis of a Small Emperor Moth on a Damson Plum: Getty Conversations
- Rococo Art
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A beginner's guide to Rococo art
By Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
The Beginnings of Rococo
In the early years of the 1700s, at the end of the reign of Louis XIV (who dies in 1715), there was a shift away from the classicism and "Grand Manner" (based on the art of Poussin) that had governed the art of the preceding 50 years in France, toward a new style that we call Rococo. The Palace of Versailles (a royal chateau that was the center of politcal power) was abandoned by the aristocracy, who once again took up residence in Paris. A shift away from the monarchy, toward the aristocracy characterizes the art of this period.
What kind of lifestyle did the aristocracy lead? Remember that the aristocracy had enormous political power as well as enormous wealth. Many chose leisure as a pursuit and became involved themselves in romantic intrigues. Indeed, they created a culture of luxury and excess that formed a stark contrast to the lives of most people in France. The aristocracy—only a small percentage of the population of France—owned over 90% of its wealth. A small, but growing middle class will not sit still with this for long (remember the French Revolution of 1789).
Fragonard's The Swing
As with most Rococo paintings, the subject of Fragonard's The Swing is not very complicated. Two lovers have conspired to get an older fellow to push the young lady in the swing while her lover hides in the bushes. Their idea is that—as she goes up in the swing, she can part her legs, and her lover can get a tantalizing view up her skirt.
The figures are surrounded by a lush, overgrown garden. A sculptured figure to the left puts his fingers to his mouth, as though saying "hush," while another sculpture in the background shows two cupid figures cuddled together. The colors are pastel pale pinks and greens, and although we have a sense of movement and a prominent diagonal line—the painting lacks the seriousness of a baroque painting.
If you look closely you can see the loose brushstrokes in the pink silk dress—and as she opens her legs, we get a glimpse of her stockings and garter belt. It was precisely this kind of painting that the philosophers of the Enlightenment were soon to condemn. They demanded a new style of art, one that showed an example of moral behavior, of human beings at their most noble.
Essay by Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker
Additional resources:
Want to join the conversation?
Would this painting have been considered to be obscene?(8 votes)
Yes, however all of the French people loved it when it was unveiled because it was on the scandalous side and affairs were rampant in France during the time. It doesn't depict anyone in particular, but chances are, if you were a French aristocrat, you would certainly know someone who was having an affair. If you look at it long enough, you will see that this painting is extraordinarily naughty. I am too squeamish to be explicit, but notice the painting's center of focus--the lines of the painting head directly to one point-- and the shape of the vines from which the swing is hanging. You will get the picture. When I learned this, I was aghast. I am no expert, but this is all according to my French teacher who studied in Europe and learned from the best. I also think that he was an art history major. He knows his stuff.(12 votes)
How is Rococo related to the Baroque in art?(3 votes)
Rococo was applied to art and to interior decoration and structure whereas Baroque was applied to art, interiors and exteriors, where it was ornate and extravagant, especially when applied to palace or church architecture.
Baroque was stiff, sombre and formal, Rococo was airy, warm, frivolous, light-hearted and somewhat tongue in cheek.
Another main difference between the two styles is the colours used in Baroque paintings are bold, dramatic and making use of highlights, shadows to create lots of detail, whereas Rococo uses white, gold and softer colours, particularly pastels, in art to convey the dreamy, sensual nature of women(5 votes)
what was the yeart rococo started(2 votes)- This is a learning site so it deserves a decent answer. The Rococo period began in the early 1700s in Paris as a reaction to/against the formalism of the baroque. By the end of the century it had been largely replaced by neoclassicism. It's pretty much limited to the reign of Louis the 15th. Watteau and Francois Boucher, (who personally I can't stand), are good examples of the style.(6 votes)
- when did the rococo start in what year(1 vote)
- I would say somewhere around the beginning of the 18th century. No exact date really. It began it's decline with the advent of philosophers like Voltaire around 1760.(1 vote)
How did rococo and neoclassicism impact the Enlightment period?(1 vote)- Is this the same Fragonard associated with perfume?(1 vote)
- No, it is strictly associated with the style of painting(0 votes)
