Rococo and the

18th 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

The Age of Enlightenment

–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.

RococoFrom

dramatic & regal

Baroque

to delicate

& playful Rococo

RococoPretty 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 MirrorsMunich, Germany, early 18th century

Antoine Watteau• Leading Rococo painter.• Born in Flanders, lived in France.• Influenced by Rubens.

Rococo

Fete Galante18th 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.

Francois Boucher, Cupid a Captive, 1754

Boucher was a follower of Watteau

Rococo

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.

Boucher, Marquise de

Pompadour, 1756.

Rococo

Fragonard• The Swing,

1766; 35”x32”. Oil on canvas. Frilly patterns- branches/dress=lively feeling

• A student of Boucher

Fragonard, The Swing, 35”x32” 1766

Fragonard was a student of Boucher

Rococo

Rigaud• Focuses on King

Louis XIV’s power.

• elaborate • showy

Louis XIV, 1701; 9’x8’. Oil on canvas.

William Hogarth, Self-Portrait with Pug-Dog. 1745.

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.

EnglishHogarth 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.

EnglishHogarth 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, Miss Elizabeth Ingram.

1757.

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.

Reynolds Portrait Of Richard Peers Symons1770.

English

Reynolds•An intellectual- wrote

on Art Theory•2,000 portraits•Painter for King George III

Thomas Gainsborough,

Mrs. Richard Brinsley, 1787.

reminiscent of Watteau in its soft-hued light and feathery brushwork.

EnglishGainsborough

• English portrait painter- over 700 exist.

• Likes to set his portraits in landscape.

• Shiny, silky textures• Filtered light

Gainsborough

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 ArchitectureNo straight lines in Rococo.

Architecture as sculpture

Boffrand, Salon de la Princesse

Paris, France,1740Rococo

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.

The Chiswick House, near London 1725

The Chiswick House is one of the most glorious examples of 18th century

British neo-Palladian architecture. Richard Boyle designed a Classical villa.

English

Palladio, Villa Rotonda, 1570.

High Italian RenaissancePalladio

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

PalladioVilla Rotonda, 1570.Italian High Renaissance

Richard Boyle (Lord Burlington)Chiswick House, c1729.ENGLISH

•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.

Effects of the Rococo Period

•The Neoclassical style of the next generation

thought that the Rococo style was decadent and

amoral…