Rococo

Characteristics of Rococo:

•According to Stokstad, Rococo is refined, fanciful, and often playful (939).

•Rococo is characterized by pastel colors, delicately curving forms, dainty figuresm and a light-hearted mood.

•Appeared in France around 1700, primarily as a style of interior design as the French court moved from Versailles back to Paris and all the rich courtiers (think entourage but incredibly wealthy) redecorated their hotels (mansions) in the latest style of the moment.

•Paintings on canvas were used to decorate the walls.

Characteristics of Rococo:•According to Gardner, Rococo appeared in France around 1700, primarily as a style of interior design (780).

•Shells and shell forms are the principal motifs in Rococo ornament

•Expect irregular painted shapes surmounted by sculpture (imagine a painted surface with a white, sculpted putto on top).

•Painting, architecture, and sculpture will combine to form a single ensemble, (see Francois de Cuvillies, Hall of Mirrors, the Amalienburg, Nymphenburg Palace park, Munich Germany, early 18th century).

•Expect soft colors; themes of love and happy scenes in outdoor settings

a puttoHall of Mirrors

Characteristics of Rococo:Compare the style Rococo painting and Baroque; both these painting were made for the French court.

Hyacinthe RigaudLouis XIV 1701Baroque

Hyacinthe RigaudState Portrait of Louis XV

1715Baroque moving toward Rococo; this boy will grow up to become the man

who befriends Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry

Jean-Antoine WatteauPilgrimage to Cythera

1718-20Oil on canvas, 129 x 194 cm

Jean-Antoine Watteau

The Festival of Lovec. 1717 oil on canvas, 61 x 75 cm

Jean-Antoine WatteauDiana at her Bath

1715-16Oil on canvas, 80 x 101 cm

Jean-Antoine Watteau: the upper-class enjoys nature while on elaborate picnics; subject matter: fete galante (elegant outdoor entertainment)—a subset of genre painting intended for the rich?; Watteau seems to love “soft-focus” trees and hazy atmospheric effects.

Watteau died when he was only thirty-seven of the same disease that everyone in Wuthering Heights dies from…..

François BoucherDiana Resting after her Bath

1742Oil on canvas, 56 x 73 cm

François BoucherDiana Resting after the HuntOil on canvas, 56 x 73 cm

François BoucherThe Toilet of Venus1751Oil on canvas, 108,3 x 85,1 cm

This painting and its pendant, Venus Consoling Love (National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.), were commissioned by Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV, for her Château de Bellevue, near Paris.

Madame de Pompadour had played the title role in La Toilette de Vénus staged at Versailles in 1750. (REALLY!!!?—those crazy 18th century French courtiers….)From http://www.metmuseum.org

François BoucherPortrait of Marquise de Pompadour1759

François Boucher

•moves the viewer closer to the subject;

•the content of many of his works are based on mythological scenes;

•Madame du Pompadour was François Boucher’s major patron; Pompadour was an amateur artist and took lessons from Boucher;

•Boucher worked from 1735 on (and on….) decorating the royal palaces at Versailles and Fontainebleau; he was a court painter (which would be the opposite of self-expression—the opposite of Northern Song or the literati).

Jean-Honoré FragonardThe Meeting1773Oil on canvas, 318 x 244 cm

Jean-Honoré FragonardThe Musical Contestc. 1754 oil on canvas

Jean-Honoré FragonardThe Love Letter1770sOil on canvas

Jean-Honoré FragonardThe Stolen Kiss

1787-89oil on canvas

Jean-Honoré FragonardThe Swing1767Oil on canvas

Jean-Honoré Fragonard was an apprentice /assistant to Boucher.

Notice that the content of Fragonard’s works seems to be “interrupted” or “frozen” moments between lovers. Because it seems as if time has suddenly been stopped in his paintings, the paintings have a tremendous immediacy.

His patron was originally Madame du Barry (the last mistress of Louis XV), but unfortunately, du Barry decided the Rococo style was “over” and Neoclassicism was the new “hot” thing.

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon ChardinLa Gouvernante (The Governess)1739Oil on canvas

This type of work is called a genre painting.

Johannes VermeerThe Milkmaidc. 1658Oil on canvas, 45,5 x 41 cmRijksmuseum, Amsterdam

In many ways, Vermeer’s work can be read as genre painting. However, Vermeer’s use of light and his incredibly sculptural forms (think Piero della Francesca) elevate his work beyond the actual subject….

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon ChardinServant Returning from the Market (La Pourvoyeuse)1738Oil on canvas

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon ChardinThe Attentive Nursec. 1738Oil on canvas

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon ChardinThe Hard-working Mother1740Oil on canvas

Supplement your book knowledge with visual knowledge…

Marie Antoinette (2006) PG-13 Sofia Coppola directs a stylized portrait of Marie Antoinette (Kirsten Dunst), the naive Austrian princess who married Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman) to become queen of France at age 19. The film explores the effects of a luxurious yet terribly confining lifestyle on the young queen. Her resulting youthful indiscretion and frivolity ultimately led to her undoing. A Cannes Golden Palm nominee, this biopic also took Oscar honors for costume design.

That’s the only one I can recommend….the others are rated “R”…..