ROCOCO

The term derives its name from a combination of the two French words...
Rococo = Rocaille + Barocco

rocaille = pebble or shell
barocco =  baroque


Big Concepts / Developments

• Power shift from the royal court to the aristocrats is paralleled in the shift in taste from the Baroque to the Rococo.

• Rococo architecture seeks to unite the arts in a coherent artistic experience.

• A quintessential Rococo painting is the fete galant, which portrays the aristocracy in their leisurely pursuits.

• The Rococo also developed a strong school of satirical painting.

• European conquest of the rest of the world. The cost of maintaining the colonial settlements / territories eventually outweighed the commercial benefits.

• The emergence of the French Royal Academy
The authority emerged here and held considerable influence into the Neoclassical period and beyond...

-A filter through which aspiring artists in France had to pass.

-Education consisting of drawing, painting, sculpting from live models, sculptures (focus being on study of human anatomy

-In addition, concepts of perspective were stressed in the Academy's training regimen.

-Subject matter and style dictated, with artists being subject to great scrutiny w/ regard to creativity.

-Hierarchy of painting types favored:
  1) history painting (inclusion of figure, drapery, landscape, etc. together)
  2) portraiture
  3) landscapes
  4) still life

STYLISTIC CHARACTERISTICS

1) Sophisticated elegance, stylish grace

2) Not uncommon to find references to pebbles or shells in the works of art (hence the name derivative)

3) Curvature, undulating lines and surfaces that swell and contract
There are no straight lines in Rococo art (painting, architecture, interior design, sculpture)

4) Highly eclectic
It is a uniting the arts together into one grand work of art (similar to Baroque style); however, the Rococo is many times overkill and can be referred to as being ostentatious, ornate, or complicated.
Rococo art a living organism, governed by the principle: "More is more",

5) Colors are light (soft pastels); dark tones avoided (compared to earlier Baroque art)

6) Importance of light - avoidance of stained glass in architecture, due to the fact that white light was favored to reveal the soft pastel colors used in the interior art.

7) "Eye candy" for the wealthy and powerful
Titillating subject matter - pleasing to the eye (caters to the senses, not so much the mind). Much of the imagery was commissioned by men who enjoyed viewing sensuously naked women depicted on canvas. The subject matter may often contain titles referencing Greek / Roman mythology, but the salacious manner in which the figures are depicted interfere with a deeper, underlying theme that an artist or patron may have had in mind.

Playful, superficial, light-hearted - in the sense that the subject matter lacked great substance. Many of the scenes depict idyllic 'flights of fancy' experienced by the upper crust of society (royalty, aristocracy).

8) Satirical - humorous on occasion, in that this period marks the first time that artist engaged in poking-fun at societal classes and character 'types' (see William Hogarth's work).

Artists to examine:
Boucher
William Hogarth
Thomas Gainsborough
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Honore Fragonard
Marie Louise Élizabeth Vigée-Lebrun