Ch. 28 - The Rococo

French rocaille – pebble or shellBarocco – baroque

• Aristocrats parallel in the shift the Baroque to the Rococo

• Fete galante – which portrays the aristocracy in their leisurely pursuits. Paintings can be seductive

• Lavish, no straight lines in the Rococo – sophisticated and elegantly refined.

• Curves are a prominent feature in the Rococo architecture

Fragonard – The Swing -1766

Flowers and figures dominate the setting

Colors are not thick or richly painted

Made for private display

Cuvillies – Hall of Mirrors

Neumann – Church of the 14 Saints -1743

Watteau – The Return from Cythera -1717

The Enlightment

• 18th Century – revolutions erupted in France and America – ( French, American and Industrial Revolution in England all happened at the same time)

• Social and economic life dissolved. • The Enlightment was a new way to think critically about

the world. To think independent of religion, myth and tradition.

• Questioning theories, god, and now experimenting with science. Voltaire and his writings were very important

Hunter – Child in Womb - 1774

Joesph Wright of Derby – A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at a Orrery - 1763

Darby III & Pritchard – Iron Bridge at Coalbrookdale, England -1776

-Bridge made out of iron-Previous bridges made out of wood

Voltaire and Rousseau

• Voltaire believed that the salvation of humanity was in advancement of science and the improvement of society

• Rousseau said that the “arts” had corrupted humanity from its original condition. “ Nature alone must be our guide”

Greuze – The Village Bride - 1761

Vigee – Lebrun – Self Portrait 1790

Inspired by Rubens

Light Rococo touch to the coloring

Peter Paul Rubens

Hogarth – Breakfast Scene - 1745

Reaction against Rococo themes: simple, honest, unaffected, people in natural settings/jobs elimination of ornament direct plain moral genre painting lower classes, non-aristocrats portrayed