The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment
Belief in the supremacy of reason over
pleasure; conviction that humans could
perfect society through the application of
the intellect to human affairs
Science takes its place for the first time
The Philosophes
Thinkers who advocated reason
Paris: center of the movement
Search for universal laws in human affairs
Scorned superstition, Christianity: Voltaire
Encyclopedia--All human knowledge:
Diderot
Deism: God created universe to operate
rationally
Rousseau
Most popular of the Enlightenment
Natural goodness of humans; value of
freedom and equality
Respect for humans in nature: Native Am.
Concept of “general will”
Flaws in society and institution cause
social injustice
Rococo Style
Softer, more delicate style than Baroque
Rocaille: shell-like decoration used in
gardens.
Art as happy, witty, frivolous, playful
The Salons
Social gathering: dining, entertainment,
conversation
Wealthy women
Mme. Geoffrin: Rousseau, Diderot
Helped finance Encyclopedia
Discussion of ideas and events
The Art of Rococo
Watteau: Gersaint’s Signboard
Fragonard’s The Swing
Vigee-Lebrun: Self-Portrait with Her
Daughter (Friend of Marie-Antoinette)
Mozart and Opera
Independent musician: no patron
Began at age 6. Composed more than
600 works: 20 operas and 41 symphonies
Joseph II of Austria sponsored him
Balance of music and drama in opera
The Marriage of Figaro; Don Giovanni;
The Magic Flute
The Bourgeois Response
Figaro based on a French play.
Condemned aristocratic privilege
Middle class gained influence
Art reflected their moral attitudes
The Bourgeois Style in Painting
Greuze: The Bride of the Village
Chardin: Boy Spinning Top
Middle class values
The Rise of the Novel
Epistolary novels
Novels of manners: Jane Austen’s Sense
and Sensibility
The Neoclassical Style
Style of the later eighteenth century that
imitated the art of ancient Greece and
Rome
Neoclassical Architecture
The Petit Trianon, Versailles
Influence of Palladio
Thomas Jefferson: Ambassador to France
Monticello in Virginia
Neoclassical Painting
Jacques-Louis David: Oath of the
Horatii
1784: Painting embodied leading
principles of neoclassicism: didactic
purpose, purity of form, and deep
passion restrained by good taste.
Revolt against rococo
David involved in French Revolution
Lictors Bearing to Brutus the Bodies of
His Sons : Civic duty higher than love
The Classical Symphony
Order, proportion, harmony
Haydn: Symphony--4 movements--sonata
form( three-part structure still used today)
Mozart: ability to create effortless
transitions between sections and build
symmetrical structure for his music
The Age of Satire
Aims to improve society by humorous
criticism
Attacks on social ills
Jonathan Swift
A Modest Proposal recommended that
poor Irish children be butchered, roasted
and served for Sunday dinners. It would
reduce population and provide income.
Gulliver’s Travels Horses put humans to
shame. Mocked humans as Yahoos
Not convinced of human decency
Satire and Society in Art
Hogarth’s Marriage a la Mode mocks
social climbers and marriage for money
Gainsborough: Mr. and Mrs. Andrews:
Vanity of England’s aristocrats
Voltaire
Opposed evils of religious bigotry and
political oppression
Candide makes fun of optimists
Cultivate your own garden: reject
philosophical solutions; cultivate himself,
work hard and seek a comfortable and
reasonable life.