FRENCH BAROQUE
& ROCOCO
FRENCH BAROQUE & ROCOCO
French Baroque & Rococo
Know these people…
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ROCOCO
Louis XIV
Antoine Watteau
Nicolas Poussin
Francois Boucher
Claude Lorrain
Jean-Honore Fragonard
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French Baroque & Rococo
Bernini
Bust of Louis XIV
1665
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French Baroque & Rococo
Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701.
FACTS ABOUT LOUIS XIV
Adopted the name “le Roi Soleil” (‘The Sun
King’). Many of the small elements on
buildings at this time included a sun design.
Believed he was center of Universe and
was “God’s Will” that he be King
Kept complete control of France and his
followers
Founded the Royal Academy of Painting &
Sculpture in 1648
(to promote the French Classical Style)
Invented red heel shoes due to
being only 5’4”
FRENCH BAROQUE & ROCOCO
French Baroque & Rococo
Louis XIV, Palace of Versailles, c.1680.
The Palace of Versailles is one of the
most beautiful achievements of 18thcentury French art. The site began as
Louis XIII’s hunting lodge before his son
Louis XIV transformed and expanded it,
moving the court and government of
France to Versailles in 1682. Each of the
three French kings who lived there until
the French Revolution added
improvements to make it more beautiful.
HERE’S HOW YOU REMEMBER:
Louis XIV built it
Louis XV lived in it
Louis XVI “paid” for it (with his head!)
FRENCH BAROQUE & ROCOCO
French Baroque & Rococo
Louis XIV, Palace of Versailles, c.1680.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Louis XIV, Palace of Versailles, c.1680.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Painting of Versailles from 1722
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French Baroque & Rococo
Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, c1680.
The Versailles of old was dimly lit, as lighting
was used sparingly to protect its ornate walls
and ceilings from smoke damage. Mirrors
gained favor as a way of boosting available
candlelight, an infatuation that culminated in
the Hall of Mirrors.
On grand occasions, twenty thousand
candles and glittering chandeliers would be
used to transform the Hall of Mirrors into a
“corridor of light”.
The Hall of Mirrors originally known as the
Great Hall, used to be an outdoor terrace. It
was later converted into a dazzling indoor
space to showcase one of Louis XIV’s most
prized collections—his sculptures of
antiquity. The room was magnificent (and still
is) at sunset, when the Sun on the horizon
illuminates the Hall!
FRENCH BAROQUE & ROCOCO
French Baroque & Rococo
Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles, c1680.
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Chapel inside Versailles
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Hall of Battles, Versailles.
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French Baroque & Rococo
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Bed of Louis XIV
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Bedchamber of Marie Antoinette
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Bedchamber of Marie Antoinette
“secret” passage of Marie Antoinette
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French Baroque & Rococo
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French Baroque & Rococo
Court Etiquette
Life at the court was narrowly regulated by court etiquette. Etiquette became the means of social
advancement for the court.
Louis XIV’s elaborate rules of etiquette included the following:
•
People who wanted to speak to the king could not knock on his door. Instead, using the left
pinkie finger, they had to gently scratch on the door, until they were granted permission to
enter. As a result, many courtiers grew that fingernail longer than the others;
•
A lady never held hands or linked arms with a gentleman. Besides being in bad taste, this
practice would have been impossible because a woman’s hooped skirts were so wide. Instead,
she was to place her hand on top of the gentleman’s bent arm as they strolled through the
gardens and chambers of Versailles. It is also mentioned that the ladies were only allowed to
touch fingertips with the men.
•
When a gentleman sat down, he slid his left foot in front of the other, placed his hands on the
sides of the chair and gently lowered himself into the chair. There was a very practical reason
for this procedure. If a gentleman sat too fast, his tight trousers might split;
•
Women and men were not allowed to cross their legs in public;
•
When a gentleman passed an acquaintance on the street, he was to raise his hat high off his
head until the other person passed;
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French Baroque & Rococo
Nicolas Poussin
(pronounced poo-SAHN)
Foremost painter of 17th
century French Classicism
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French Baroque & Rococo
Nicolas Poussin, Rape of the Sabines, 1640s.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Nicolas Poussin, The Death of Germanicus, 1627-28.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Nicolas Poussin, The Shepherds of Arcadia, 1638.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Nicolas Poussin, Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite, 1634.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Claude Lorrain, Landscape
with Apollo Guarding the
Herds of Admetus , 1645.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Claude Lorrain, Port Scene with the Departure of Ulysses from the Land of the Feaci, 1646.
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French Baroque & Rococo
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French Baroque & Rococo
Claude Lorrain, Aeneas's Farewell to Dido in Carthago, 1676.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Claude Lorrain, Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba, 1648.
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French Baroque & Rococo
François de Cuvillies, Hall of Mirrors, Munich, Germany, early 1700s.
Delicate, Organic, Ornate, Detailed, Reflective, Fanciful, Festive
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French Baroque & Rococo
Germain Boffrand, Salon de la Princesse , Paris, France ca 1737-1740
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French Baroque & Rococo
Germain Boffrand, Salon de la Princesse , Paris, France ca 1737-1740
This is a typical French
Rococo Room.
The room is comprised of
sinuous curves luxuriantly
multiplied in mirror reflections.
Painting, architecture, and
sculpture combine to form a
single ensemble.
tendrils: A twisting, threadlike
structure by which a twining
plant, such as a grape or
cucumber, grasps an object or
a plant for support.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701.
Antoine Watteau, L’Indefferent, 1716.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Antoine Watteau,
Return from Cythera, 1717-1719
This painting represents a group of lovers
preparing to depart from the island of
eternal youth and love, sacred to
Aphrodite.
Young and luxuriously costumed, they
perform, as it were, an elegant, tender,
and graceful ballet, moving from the
protective shade of a woodland park,
peopled with amorous cupids and
voluptuous statuary, down a grassy slope
to an awaiting golden barge.
Fete Galante = ‘elegant outdoor entertainment’
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French Baroque & Rococo
Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera, 1717.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Francois Boucher, Cupid a Captive,
1754
Boucher was a follower of Watteau and the painter
for Madame de Pompadour ( the influencial mistress
of Louis XV)
His fame was gained through his paintings of
graceful allegories, with Archadian shepherds,
nymphs, and goddesses cavorting in shady glens
engulfed in pink and sky blue light.
“Boucher’s paintings are highly caloric with little
nutritional value”
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French Baroque & Rococo
Francois Boucher,
Marquise de Pompadour , 1756.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Jean-Honré Fragonard,
The Swing, 1766
Fragonard was a student of Boucher and
is considered by many to have
surpassed the genius of his master.
This is a typical “intrigue” picture.
A young gentleman has managed an
arrangement whereby an unsuspecting
old bishop swings the young man’s pretty
sweetheart higher and higher, while her
lover (and the work’s patron), in the lower
left-hand corner, stretches out to admire
her ardently from a strategic position on
the ground.
The young lady flirtatiously and boldly
kicks off her shoe at the little statue on
the god of discretion, who holds his
finger to his lips.
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French Baroque & Rococo
Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Bathers, 1766.
FRENCH BAROQUE & ROCOCO