[CHP. 18- ROCOCO AND THE 18TH CENTURY]
1704 English victory over French
at Blenheim
1715 Death of Louis XIV
1715 1774 Reign of Louis XV
1756 1763 Seven Years' War
(French and Indian War); England
and Prussia against France and
Austria
1759 Battle of Quebec
1775 1785 American Revolution
1789 1797 French Revolution
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Late Baroque
We have seen the enormous variety of Baroque 17th-century art that contrasts Bernini with Lebrun;
Caravaggio with Velázquez, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Poussin. In the eighteenth century these artists' styles
will persevere and be modified by followers. But the eighteenth century further represents a series of
changing patterns in art. These are reflective of particularly important changes in nations and alliances of
nations. They also represent the increasing concept that art bears political symbolism and can reflect social
consciousness. The first half century begins with a continuation of the Baroque and its evolution to the lighter,
more delicate art of the Rococo.
The death of Louis XIV in 1715 marks a turning point. In the age of Louis XV the focus returned to Paris, and
there was a distinct reaction against the weighty pomp and ceremony of Versailles court life. The Rococo style
marks this change. The word derives from the French rocaille ("rock work") and pertains extensively to
decorative arts, though it has come, by extension, to include architecture, painting, and sculpture.
In France the Rococo did not outlast the first half of the eighteenth century. The most outstanding
monuments of the style, in fact, are in Austria and South Germany. The English painter Hogarth, the Italians
Guardi and Tiepolo, and the Spanish Goya are all considered Rococo masters, but the art of the Rococo did
not become predominant in England, Italy, or Spain.
Overview of Rococo Art ( from my web)

an extension of the Baroque

style of the first three-quarters of the eighteenth century.

continue Baroque - differences

foundations of mod world laid
FRENCH Rococo- Appealed to nobility
Spread rapidly in Europe, replacing Baroque
The word Rococo comes from the word Rocaille - motif of shells and pebble work inside grottoes
18.7 Jean-Honore FragonardThe Swing. (1766)
Oil on canvas. 35 x 32 in.
Wallace Collection, London
Photo© WNCC Slide Library.
Timeline of Rococo Art
1715 - 1774 (approx Louis XV)
Age of Passion = 1st half of 18th c
Age of Reason = Age of Enlightenment
2nd half of century
Characteristics of the Rococo style:

curvilinear

ornamentation

"subject matter is devoted almost exclusively to earthy parables on the vicissitudes of amatory
love."

Energetic, playful, superficial, light, airy style,alive with energy

Pastel colors, curvilinear compositions, frivolous, romantic

Not heavy or theatrical like Baroque

Retained movement, light, and gesture of Baroque

“Characteristically ornate and intricate in design"

"seen mainly in furniture, architecture, and some artwork."
[CHP. 18- ROCOCO AND THE 18TH CENTURY]
Part 5: Unit Exam Essay Questions

Discuss Enlightenment philosophy. How is it reflected in the arts? Use examples in your text.

Using examples from your text, compare Rococo with Baroque. Consider style, context, and subject matter.

Discuss the role of irony and satire in the art of William Hogarth.

Compare American painting of the eighteenth century with that of England and France. Use the examples in your text.

Discuss the iconography of Benjamin West's Death of General Wolfe, considering his portrayal of contemporary events.

Discuss Enlightenment philosophy. How is it reflected in the arts? Use examples in your text.

Using examples from your text, compare Rococo with Baroque. Consider style, context, and subject matter.

Discuss the role of irony and satire in the paintings of Watteau.

Compare American painting of the eighteenth century with that of England and France. Use the examples in your text.

Discuss the contemporary and the historical features of the iconography of West's The Death of General Wolfe.
Chapter Outline
ROCOCO AND THE 18th CENTURY
Age of Enlightenment
Science: Priestley; Halley; Leibniz
Music: Vivaldi; Bach; Haydn; Mozart
Literary satire: Voltaire; Swift
Sturm und Drang in Germany: Goethe
The encyclopédistes: Diderot
Political philosophers: Locke; Rousseau
Seven Years' War (1756–1763)
American Revolution (1776)

The U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights
French Revolution (1789)
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette guillotined (1793)
Art patronage moves from Versailles to the Paris salon
Revival styles: Chinoiserie; discovery of Pompeii and Herculaneum
Winckelmann and the beginning of art history
Painters in France: Watteau; Boucher; Fragonard; Rigaud; Vigée-Lebrun; Labille-Guiard; Chardin; Carriera
Painters in England: Wright; Gainsborough; Hogarth; Kauffmann
Painters in America: Copley; West
German architects: Neumann; Pöppelmann; Zimmermann
Tiepolo in the Kaisersaal
Architects in England: Lord Burlington; Adam; Walpole
Art Theory: Winckelmann; Kant; Hege
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Summary and Study Guide
Late 1700’s to Mid 1800s
The Age of Enlightenment (from my web)

Characteristic of Enlightenment:

Voltaire

Denis Diderot - Encyclopedia

systematic gathering and ordering of data from natural world, leads to understanding of oneself & the world

power of knowledge & education to improve human life and the renewed interest in naturalism leads to both:
revival of classicism
beginning of Romantic (Goethe)

moral painting : details of accurate observations from life: Chardin, Hogarth
Scientific Experiments in the Enlightenment (from my web)
Art Theory and the Beginnings of Art History (from my web)
The Rococo, Enlightenment, Neoclassicism and Romanticism (AP Art History)
Terms
be able to identify these by sight, explain these in relation to art, and know an example of each in relation to a work of art
Rococo
archeology
Enlightenment
Johan
Joachim Winckelmann
philosophes
Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Art in Painting and salon
Sculpture by Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1755)
Encyclopédie by Denis Diderot (1713‐1784) History of Ancient Art by Johann Joachim Winckelmann the Grand Tour (1764)
Industrial Revolution
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769‐1821)
fête galante
Romanticism
Poussinistes
age of revolutions (American, French, and Greek)
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Rubénistes
Crenellation
Madame de Pompadour
the great rivals: Ingres vs. Delacroix
Prix de Rome
the Salon
Neoclassicism
Delacroix’s trip to North Africa and journals
excavations at Herculaneum (begun in 1738) and Pompeii
Hudson River School
(begun in 1748)
Art Works
know these works by sight, title, date, medium, scale, and location (original location also if moved) and be able to explain and analyze these in
relation to any concept, term, element, or principle
54. Oil on canvas,
Clodion, Nymph and Satyr, c.1775, terracotta
Vigée‐Lebrun, Self‐Portrait, 1790, oil on canvas
Real images fo
5’ 5/8”.
Enlightenm
c.1763¬1765, oil on canvas
of the sun),
Copley, Portrait of Paul Revere, c.1768‐1770, oil on canvas
lottesville,
Virg
es‐Louis David,
Oath of the Horatii, 1784, oil on canvas
m Kent, Chiswick House, near London, England, b.1725
Blake, Ancient of Days, frontispiece of Europe: A Prophecy, 1794, hand colored etching
Devouring His Children, 1819‐1823, detail of a detached fresco on canva
usa, 1818‐1819, oil on
1814, oil on
roix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830, oil on
canvas
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–La Marseillaise, Arc de Triomphe, Paris,
1833‐1836, limestone
Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On),
1840, oil on canvas
eb Bingham, Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, c.1845, oil
on canvas
Delacroix, ca. 1855.
Harvest of Death, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1863. Modern print*
(*Nadar and O’Sullivan took their pictures and produced the negatives in the year listed, the print from this negative however was made more
recently by some other dude.)
Key Terms
chancel
impasto
stucco
chinoiserie
krater
trompe l'oeil
fleur-de-lys
molding
hôtel
pagoda