Ro Coco Style in Europe

Rococo Style in Europe

Introduction

  • Rococo is derived from the French word "rocailles" and the Portuguese word "baraco".
  • Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera by Jean-Antoine Watteau (1717):
    • Watteau was one of the founders of Rococo style painting in France.
    • Submitted to the Royal Academy of Painting.
    • Judges created a new genre called Fête Galante (elegant outdoor entertainment).
    • Influenced by previous Baroque landscape styles.
    • Fanciful, playful landscape with no classical or historic significance.
    • Romantic in sense.
    • Incorporates atmospheric perspective.
    • Not a strong use of chiaroscuro but some dark areas to bring figures to the foreground.
    • As the painting recedes, delineation between objects is softened, giving a sense of three-dimensionality.
    • Light and lucid use of brushwork, images blur into one another.
    • Fanciful depiction with cherubs and angels floating in space.

What is Rococo?

  • Derivative of two words:
    • French: rocailles (artificial shell used in French garden ornamentation).
    • Portuguese: baraco (irregularly shaped pearl).
  • Rococo refers to a period in art with fanciful, refined, and playful elements.

Objectives

  • Examine French Rococo salons.
  • Discuss the Rococo style in France.
  • Appraise the work of Fragonard in French Rococo painting.
  • Evaluate the Rococo art of Germany.
  • Key terms: salons, arabesques, François Boucher, Fragonard, Wurzburg.

French Rococo Salons

  • Lavishly decorated rooms for fashionable gatherings in wealthy homes of nobility and aristocracy.
  • Details:
    • Arabesques: S-shaped, C-shaped, and reverse C-shaped ornamentation on the walls.
    • Naturalistic foliage incorporated into the design.
    • Simply for lavish decoration and ornamentation.
    • Mirrors to enlarge the space and add mystery and confusion to the room.
    • Focus on undulating arabesques and the playful attitude of the room.

French Rococo Painting

  • The Triumph of Venus by François Boucher (1740):
    • Boucher is closely associated with Parisian Rococo art.
    • Playful and frivolous sense of detail.
    • Venus is escorted on a raft of satin and silks, pulled by unrealistic dolphins, accompanied by cherubs, angels, and titans.
    • A scene from Roman mythology.
  • The Meeting by Fragonard (1771-1773):
    • Master of French Rococo painting.
    • Fanciful, playful, and romantic scene.
    • A gentleman meeting his lover in the garden.
    • The playful look on the cherub and woman in the statue.
    • Very free and spontaneous, with lovers exploding in color and richness.
    • Lush vegetation surrounds them.
    • Lucid and loose rapid use of the artist's brushwork.
    • Bright colors and lushness.
    • A world that doesn't exist like inside the artist's imagination.

Rococo Art in Germany

  • Rococo style architecture was popular in Germany.
  • Kaiserall (Imperial Hall) in Wurzburg, Germany:
    • Captures the Rococo spirit.
    • Arabesques on the wall, incorporation of mirrors and niches.
    • Gilded and lavish.
  • The Marriage of Emperor Frederick and Beatrice of Burgundy (1751-1752):
    • Fresco inside the Kaiserall.
    • Play between the physical architecture and the painting.
    • Difficult to distinguish where the painting ends and the architecture begins.
    • The subject matter is presented in a theatrical way.
    • The painting and gilded stucco act as curtains drawing back to reveal the scene.
    • Values elaborate costumes and classical architecture in the background.

Summary

  • Rococo is a style with a playful, loose hand of the artist.
  • Romantic scenes are depicted with an illusionistic quality.
  • Artists have fun with their own imagination rather than pulling things out of history.