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Rocococ
The name of the Rococo Period (1700 - 1770) comes from the French word rocaille, which means "rockwork," after the forms of seashells that are used in the art and architecture of the period. Rococo art extensively features shell-shaped curves and wave-like motifs, especially in rich furniture design and interior décor.
The Rococo movement was centered in France and emerged as a reaction to the Baroque grandeur of King Louis XIV's royal court at the Palace of Versailles. It is a style of French painting associated with Madame Pompadour, the mistress of the new King Louis XIV, and the homes of the aristocratic French. It is a whimsical and decorative style of art.
Neither the church nor the government had any part in the rise in the Rococo movement. This was a big sign that French society was less devoted to religion. Even though some churches were built and decorated in the Rococo style, the religious element was pretty much nonexistent in Rococo paintings.
This movement slowly spread through Europe, but not all countries accepted it. The British Rococo tended to depict nature with more realistic detail than the French style.
If you have access to Vimeo, watch the video Rococo Art: The Pursuit of Pleasure (5:08) to learn more.
Boreas Abducting Oreithyia by Francois Boucher, 1768
Rococo Characteristics
Characteristics of Rococo art include:
- Light-hearted depictions of domestic life in upper class homes
- Elegantly dressed aristocrats at play usually in pastoral landscapes
- Courting, Romance, Fun and playfulness
- Mythological themes
- Pastel colors Pastel colors are colors having a soft, subdued shade. These colors are soft, soothing, and lack strong color, such as pink, baby blue, lavender, and light orange. and soft and light shades (Did you know that pink was considered a masculine color at this time in history?)
- Never really carried any serious messages
- Outdoor scenes
- Almost frivolous because it served no specific purpose beyond pleasing the eye
- Paintings were small in order to make them ideal for decorations
- Asymmetry
- Naturalism
- Curved, serpentine (curving in alternate directions) lines
- Heavy use of ornamentation
Rococo Styles and Types
There are several different types and styles of Rococo art.
Paintings
Fine art paintings that featured mythological and courtship themes were common. These include:
- pastoral landscapes, or quiet and peaceful landscape paintings in a country setting
Charms of Country Life by Boucher, 1737, is a pastoral landscape. - mythological painting
- engravings
- portraits
- fête galante, or artwork that depicts aristocrats enjoying various forms of outdoor recreation in the countryside
- objects and decorations in a chinoisere style, which is Rococo style that reflects Chinese qualities or motifs Decorative designs or patterns that are distinctive or dominant in an artistic composition
Architecture
Architecture is lighter and more graceful than baroque architecture. It has asymmetrical, numerous curves and decorations with pastel exteriors.
Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo is an example of Rococo architecture.
Sculpture
Rococo sculpture uses porcelain instead of marble. Porcelain is a hard, white ceramic made by firing pure clay and then glazing it with colored fusible materials.
Pair of Lovers is a group of Nymphenburg porcelain, c. 1760, modelled by Franz Anton Bustelli.
Tapestry Art
Tapestry art is an ancient form of textile art that is traditionally woven on a loom. They are portable works of art that can be rolled up and transported from one place to another. They were usually draped on walls.
Interior Design
Interior design during this period featured wood paneling and pale colors, instead of marble and bronze from past periods. The color scheme is mostly white and gold, along with pastel and light colors. Wall paneling were a common feature, and many were decorated with flowers and elaborate trompe l'oeils of garlands and flower sprays with birds and animals.
Interior of the Ottobeuren Basilica at Ottobeuren, Germany
Wooden confessional in the Ottobeuren Basilica
The furniture of this time had beautiful finishes with lines and details. Flowers decorated much of the furniture.
18th century red lacquer rococo chest of drawers
Objets d'art, meaning "art object" or "work of art" in French, were popular during this time. This term describes works of art that are not paintings, large or medium-sized sculptures, prints, or drawings. They are mostly decorative objects like small carvings, metalwork items, statuettes, engraved gems, carvings, small clocks, watches, gold boxes, textiles, especially tapestries and books with fine book bindings.
Couple at the Breakfast Table by Johann Joachim Kaendler, 1744
Artist Spotlight: Watteau
Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684 – 1721), better known as Antoine Watteau, was a French painter whose brief career spurred an interest in the revival of color and movement in Rococo art.
He grew up a sickly, frail child and his family and friends did not think he would live very long. In fact, he died at the young age of 36 from tuberculosis. On his deathbed, he was clutching a paintbrush and painting imaginary paintings in the air.
Portrait of Antoine Watteau by Rosalba Carriera, c. 1710-20
Although Watteau lacked aristocratic patrons, his work did attract middle class buyers, such as bankers and art dealers. He worked with Claude Gillot, a theatrical painter and etcher who eventually taught him. Watteau created paintings that were theatrical in nature and may have even been painted for actual performances. He was a prolific draftsman, and his drawings were collected and admired by many.
He invented the fête galante genre of painting during the Rococo period. In this type of painting, beautifully dressed young people idle away their leisure time in dreamy, romantic, pastoral settings.
Watteau came in second at the Prix de Rome, a competition in which the winner received a 5-year scholarship to attend the Academy of Art in Rome. Since he didn't get accepted, he applied again in 1712; The Pilgrimage to Cythera was the painting he chose to submit for membership. Watteau was considered to be such a good painter that, rather than receiving a scholarship, he was selected as a full member of the Academy of Art. After his acceptance, a new category in fête galante was created just for him.
Watteau had a major influence on the arts, more than any other 18th century artist. In 1984, Watteau societies were created in Paris, marking a renewed interest in his work.
See some of Watteau's work below:
The Charms of Life by Watteau, 1718
Pilgrimage to Cythera by Watteau, 1718-20
The Italian Comedians by Watteau, 1710-20
Artist Spotlight: Boucher
Born in Paris, Francois Boucher (1703 - 1770) was the son of a lace designer. He began his art training at a young age in the studio of Francois Lemoyne, one of the leading decorative artists of the time. After only three years of painting, he won the coveted Prix de Rome. This win afforded him the opportunity to attend the Academy of Art in Rome for five years.
Boucher spent time as a printmaker and illustrator; he even created etchings under Antoine Watteau. When Boucher attended the academy in Rome, he spent four years studying the works of the Baroque masters. He devoted himself to large scale mythological and historical paintings.
Portrait of Francois Boucher by Gustaf Lundberg, 1741
Recognized for his great work and offered a membership in the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in France, he was a versatile and imaginative artist who worked as a painter of oil paintings, wood panels, a book illustrator, and a designer for tapestries. He created over 1,000 paintings and 10,000 drawings. Boucher used chalk, gouache, and oil in his drawings. He also had an effect on printmaking, tapestry, and ceramics. His most unique contribution to Rococo painting was his excellent handling of mythologie galante, a style in which he painted traditional mythological themes into witty scenes of erotic and sentimental love.
He was also a master of genre painting, and he created a vast number of portraits. He received commissions from many royal patrons including King Louis XV, Madame de Pompadour (who encouraged him and supported his rise as a great artist), and the Swedish ambassador to Paris, Count Carlos Gustave Tessin. He also had a number of middle class (or bourgeois) collectors who bought his work.
Boucher's most prestigious recognition came when he was appointed to two positions in the French arts establishment: as the painter to the King and as the director of the Royal Academy.
See some of Boucher's work below:
La toilette (or The Toilet) by Boucher, 1742, is a genre painting.
The Chinese Garden by Boucher, 1742, is a chinosere.
La Fontaine d'Amour by Boucher, 1748, is a landscape painting.
Artist Spotlight: Hogarth
William Hogarth (1697 - 1764), a great English engraver and painter, was the founder of the modern English school of painting.
Born in England, he was the son of a schoolmaster. At the age of 15, he was an apprentice to a silversmith where he learned the art of engraving. He acquired a steadiness of hand and practice in design, which was more valuable to him than any of the things he would have learned from the portrait painters of the day. He liked to draw because he wanted to record the humorous side of London life as he saw it. He even devised his own system for drawing by memory. In the evenings, he would write down the things that had amused or impressed him during the day, and he used them for subsequent drawings.
During his early years, Hogarth would engrave coats of arms and bills of sale. In fact, his earliest known work is his own engraved card that said "W. Hogarth, engraver, April 23rd, 1720." He went on to illustrate books and published his first series of satires called Burlington Gate.
The Painter and His Pug is a self-portrait by Hogarth, 1745.
He also worked in oil paint, which helped to establish himself as a painter. His earliest paintings were small, portrait groups or conversational pieces. Conversational pieces are informal group portraits that are small in scale, usually 12 to 15 inches high. These paintings showed people, often families or sometimes groups of friends, in domestic interior or garden settings. He spent his life producing satirical engravings and paintings as well as a large number of portraits.
Hogarth's work can be put into four categories:
- conversation pieces,
- satirical moralities,
- portraits, and
- historical paintings.
He was not a realist, but a creator; his aim was to tell a moral story with his pictures. He was a very popular portrait painter; in fact, one portrait that he painted of an English actor in 1746 sold for the price of £200 (That was a lot of money back then; today it would be equivalent to £28,130.00 or $36,372.33). Hogarth made art popular by dealing with life in a way that people knew and could understand it; he brought his his engravings to lower classes of people who generally knew very little about art. Hogarth's influence lives on today as many artists are still inspired by his work.
See some of Hogarth's work below:
Hogarth's Servants by Hogarth, 1750
The Young Heir Takes Possession of Miser's Effects by Hogarth, 1732
Married to an Old Maid is an engraving by Hogarth, 1734
Artist Spotlight: Gainsborough
Born in England, Thomas Gainsborough (1727 – 1788) was the son of the weaver and maker of woolen goods. He was an English portrait and landscape painter. He began drawing at a very young age of 10. He impressed his father with his drawing and painting skills so much that he was allowed to leave home at the age of 13 to study art in London.
While in London, he became associated with William Hogarth and his school. Gainsborough considered himself a landscape painter, who was forced by economic necessity to paint portraits. He said many times that, while portraiture was his work, landscape painting was his pleasure.
Gainsborough's working life falls into three periods of fourteen years each: 1746-1760 in Ipswich, 1760-74 in Bath, and 1774-1788 in London. Even though each of these periods have separate characteristics, the distinction between the first and second periods is much clearer than between the second and third. In Ipswich he wasn't nearly as successful as he was in other places. He married and continued to paint landscapes and portraits of local people. During this time, his work was very close and precise, and he owed a good deal to the Dutch Realist painters.
He left Ipswich and went to Bath, where his style reached its highest development. He continued to paint and became enamored with the painter Van Dyck. His success in Bath was immediate. Gainsborough's growing practice as a portrait painter gave him less and less time to continue landscape painting. He was asked to become a founding member of the Royal Academy, a very high honor. He did not have much opportunity to observe from nature, which he liked to do when painting.
Gainsborough is considered the father of English landscape painting. It was hard for him while he was in Bath not to concentrate on this genre. His landscape paintings had an innocent and simple approach. He worked in watercolors, as well as oils. His drawings were delightful and had spontaneity and breadth. He used charcoal, chalk, watercolor, and soft ground etchings, which gave his drawings a timid and tentative look.
In his later life while he was in London, Gainsborough started to paint themes of rural life along with pictures of rural beggar children, gypsies, and child laborers. As he grew older, the business of professional portrait painting began to bother him. He had very little patience with boring and tiresome models. He was a landscape artist at heart, and he developed a type of portrait that put the sitter (the model or person 'sitting' for the portrait) in a landscape.
Gainsborough used a device to view his landscapes that he painted called a showbox. These landscapes were painted in oil on glass. The showbox contained a painted glass landscape that was put before a screen. Originally, three candles lit the screen. The image was viewed through the adjustable lens at the front.
Gainsborough died of cancer in 1788. He has been described by art historian Michael Rosenthal as "one of the most technically proficient and, at the same time, most experimental artist of his time."
See some of Gainsborough's work below:
Self-Portrait by Gainsborough, 1759
Portrait of Jonathan Buttall (or more commonly called The Blue Boy) by Gainsborough, 1770
Landscape and Cattle by Gainsborough is an undated watercolor pastoral landscape.
Spitz Dog by Gainsborough, 1765
