Rococo, Neoclassicism, & The Enlightenment

Enlightenment

philosophy (17th - 18th century) of rational thought based on empirical evidence and optimism for the perfectibility of human society, championed science and progress

Beginning of Industrial Revolution

economic power shift to industry from agriculture/landholders, capitalists make money, expanding lower and middle classes in cities

Rococo

18^th cent. Style following Baroque in architecture, interior design, painting, decorative arts, sculpture, mid - late 18th century

• Ornate, fanciful, elaborate, pastel colors, white and gold, curves

• Began in France – extension of Versailles court culture into Parisian society

• Spread to other European countries, esp. southern Germany, Italy, Russia

The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard

1767, Rococo, France, 2′ 8″ x 2′ 1″, oil on canvas

What did Neoclassicism look like in the 18th century?

Connected to Enlightenment ideas of the perfectibility of man, rationality, and the progress of civilization (with Western civilization in the lead)

• Revival of interest in Greco-Roman Antiquity (the Classical era)

• Visually: formal balance and symmetry, restrained color, whiteness

What did Neoclassicism focus on in architecture?

symmetry, columns, pediments, arches

What was the idealized form in Neoclassicism

• realistic anatomy from observation

• idealized form - (bodies perfected) or  unflinching honesty (truth in realism)

• realism as a marker of an advanced culture (it is virtuous, highly developed)

• nudity, mostly male but also female examples

• white marble sculpture - no color - (it is pure, high-minded)

Venus Victrix (Paolina Borghese) by Antonio Canova

1808, Neoclassicism, Italy, marble, life-sized,

Monticello by Thomas Jefferson

Neoclassicism, Charlottesville, Virginia  1769-1782, 1796-1809

Map

France

Map

Washington DC, USA