Rococo
th
18
and the
Century
…begins in France and
spreads through Europe
Rococo
The Age of Enlightenment
- reasoning and intellect
It continued to be a time of
great advancements
Age of
Enlightenment
The
– Mozart, Bach, and Vivaldi revolutionized
music
–Technology: the Industrial Revolution
– Giant steps in science
– The New World was expanding
– Swift and Voltaire influenced literature,
philosophy, and satire.
Rococo
From
dramatic &
regal Baroque
delicate &
playful Rococo
to
Rococo
Pretty pastel
colors
Rococo
• often portrays
aristocracy in
frivolous,
exotic, fantasy
worlds.
Rococo
fun and lighthearted.
•Art made to entertain
the higher class.
“…let them eat cake” attitude of
the rich
Rococo
•elaborate ornamentation
François de
Cuvilles, Hall of
Mirrors
Munich, Germany,
early 18th century
Antoine Watteau
• Leading Rococo
painter.
• Born in
Flanders, lived
in France.
• Influenced by
Rubens.
Rococo
Fete Galante
18th century French style of
painting that depicts the
aristocracy walking
through a forested
landscape
Watteau
• Famous for fetes galantes, festive
gatherings of aristocrats relaxing and
enjoying life.
Antoine Watteau
Return from Cythera,1720; 4’x6’
a group of lovers preparing to depart from the island
of eternal youth and love, sacred to Aphrodite.
Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera, 1717.
Watteau
• Gilles, oil on
canvas. Depicts a
lonely actor in
costume but with
nowhere to go. He
is contradicted by
happy people
conversing behind
him.
Rococo
Boucher was a
follower of
Watteau
Francois Boucher,
Cupid a Captive, 1754
Boucher
• Was also
influenced by
Rubens.
• Venus Consoling
Love, 1751, oil on
canvas.
Boucher
• Depicts Venus
consoling a fussy
Cupid. Two other
Cupids watch. The
use of pinks,
blonde hair, and
silky textures
give this a cheerful
feeling.
Rococo
Boucher,
Marquise de
Pompadour, 1756.
Fragonard
• The Swing,
1766; 35”x32”.
Oil on canvas.
Frilly patternsbranches/dress
=lively feeling
• A student of
Boucher
Fragonard,
The Swing, 35”x32”
1766
Rococo
Fragonard was
a student of
Boucher
Rigaud
• Focuses on King
Louis XIV’s
power.
• elaborate
• showy
Louis XIV, 1701; 9’x8’.
Oil on canvas.
English
William Hogarth
was a major English
painter, printmaker,
pictorial satirist,
social critic and
editorial cartoonist.
Much of his work,
though at times
vicious, poked fun at
contemporary politics
and customs.
William Hogarth, Self-Portrait with Pug-Dog. 1745.
English
Hogarth was very
popular in his day.
He made $ from his
prints so he didn’t
have to be worried
about upsetting his
patrons with his biting
wit.
William Hogarth, Self-Portrait with Pug-Dog. 1745.
English
Hogarth
was influenced by
Flemish and Dutch
genre paintings.
He enjoys poking fun
at the upper-class
Hidden messages
Hogarth
• Time Smoking a
Picture, 1761,
etching.
• Picture in a
picture.
• Father Time “smokes”
a painting onto a
canvas. Smoke is used
to make the painting
older than it really is, a
way of fraudulently
increasing its value.
Hogarth shows his
opposition to art
for profit’s sake.
William Hogarth, A Rake’s Progress (etching), 1735.
Hogarth, from Marriage a la Mode, 1745
He tells stories through series of paintings
Hogarth, from Marriage a la Mode, 1743.
Sir Joshua
Reynolds
the most important
18th century English
painter, specializing in
portraits and
promoting the "Grand
Style" in painting
which depended on
idealization of the
imperfect.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, Miss Elizabeth Ingram. 1757.
English
Reynolds
•An intellectual- wrote
on Art Theory
•2,000 portraits
•Painter for King
George III
Reynolds
Portrait Of Richard Peers Symons
1770.
English
Gainsborough
reminiscent of
Watteau in its
soft-hued light
and feathery
brushwork.
Thomas Gainsborough,
Mrs. Richard Brinsley, 1787.
Gainsborough
• English portrait
painter- over 700 exist.
• Likes to set his
portraits in landscape.
• Shiny, silky textures
• Filtered light
Blue Boy, 1770.
Oil on canvas
Gainsborough
• English, painted nature & portraits
Mr. & Mrs. Andrews, Oil on canvas; 1750
Reynolds
Gainsborough
Architecture
• Before Rococo architecture,
buildings were very geometric..
• More curves and ovals
• Interiors are designed to be
ornate and “frilly.”
• Ceilings and walls are usually
gilded with gold.
Rococo Architecture
No straight lines in Rococo.
Architecture as sculpture
Rococo
Boffrand, Salon de la Princesse
Paris, France,1740
Poppelmann
• Zwinger,
Dresden,
Germany,
1720. design was
based on
Vitruvian
proportions.
Some Classical
elements
Zimmermann
• Wieskirche, Germany 1750. A
pilgrimage church with a plain exterior
but elaborate interior.
Zimmermann
• Wieskirche, Bovaria. The ceiling’s
painted surfaces merge with the
architecture in an illusionistic way.
English
The Chiswick House is
one of the most
glorious examples of
18th century British
neo-Palladian
architecture. Richard
Boyle designed a
Classical villa.
The Chiswick House, near London 1725
Palladio, Villa Rotonda, 1570.
High Italian Renaissance
Palladio
dominated
the
architectural
style of the
1700’s
Palladio, Villa Rotonda, 1570.
High Italian Renaissance
Palladio
wrote The Four
Books of
Architecture
that would
greatly
influence
American
colonies later.
Villa Rotonda
includes Roman
and Etruscan
influence
Palladio
Villa Rotonda, 1570.
Italian High
Renaissance
Richard Boyle
(Lord Burlington)
Chiswick House,
c1729.
ENGLISH
Effects of the
Rococo Period
•Rococo gave way to The Neoclassical
Style late in the 18th century.
•The Rococo Style disappeared after the
French Revolution in 1789.
•still some remains of Rococo influence
in architecture, especially Churches
and palaces.
•The Neoclassical style of
the next generation
thought that the Rococo
style was decadent and
amoral…