THE ROCOCO

• Origin: Paris, France• Date: 1700-1750• Also known as “Late Baroque”• Rocaille: stone• Coquilles: shell

• Rococo an 18th-century artistic movement and style, which affected several aspects of the arts, including painting, sculpture, architecture, interior design, decoration, literature, music, and theater.

In 1835, the Dictionary of the French Academy stated that the word Rococo "usually covers the kind of ornament, style and design associated with Louis XV's reign and the beginning of that of Louis XVI.”

Louis XV Louis XVI

• Rococo is an entirely interior style, because the wealthy and aristocratic moved back to Paris from Versailles. Paris was already built up and so rather than engaging in major architectural additions, they simply renovated the interiors of the existing buildings. Palace of Versailles

Essence• Reaction against the grandeur, symmetry and strict regulations of the

Baroque, especially that of Palace of Versailles• If Baroque was melodrama, Rococo was light comedy.• Rococo was a rejection of both the masculinity and the symmetry of

Baroque. • Vertical lines were avoided• Angles softened• Turned over the clean stability of Louis XIV chairs and their motifs. • Abandoned classical Roman and Greek ornament that had always

seemed to dictate taste.• Designers created flowing, giddy, visually spectacular carving. • France especially took these liberties—Chippendale’s version in England

tended to be “more cautious.”

• In the beginning, Rococo was connected to pieces of furniture and then step by step progressed to architecture and other art forms throughout the different parts of Europe.

• Also silver and ceramics.

Features

• Natural motifs (British style is more realistic than French)

Longton Hall porcelain factory1755-1760Soft-paste porcelain, painted in enamels

• Elaborate carved forms

Chimneypiece and OvermantelUnknown makerAbout 1750Pinewood, marble and mirror glass

Rococo was a style developed by craftspeople and designers rather than architects. This helps to explain the importance of hand-worked decoration in Rococo design.

• Asymmetry (also called contraste)

VaseDerby Porcelain factory1758-1760Soft-paste porcelain,painted in enamels

Rococo design is often not symmetrical - one half of the design does not match the other half.

• S and C scrolls

Dressing Table MirrorChelsea Porcelain factoryAbout 1756-1758Soft-paste porcelain painted with enamels, moulded, engraved and with gilt-metal mounts and brass plaque

Curved forms are common in Rococo. They often resemble the letters S and C.

• Rocaille

Chelsea Plate18th centuryPLATE of rococo moulded form, painted with a large central rose, scattered insects and flowers, more flowers to the border.

• Acanthus leaf

Sauce BoatPhilip Bruguier1755-1756 (hallmarked)Silver

The acanthus leaf is one of the basic motifs of Rococo design. It is not very closely related to a real acanthus leaf (Acanthus mollis), but is rather a stylised version of it.

Other features

• the cabochon, a raised oval-shaped ornament, like a plain cameo, with carved leaves surrounding it

• the scallop shell, but with Rococo gaiety• gilding throughout• marquetry and painting

Furniture

• Lighthearted, physically and visually. • Ornate, graceful• Matching back and seat upholstery• The idea of furniture had evolved to a symbol of status• Took on a role in comfort and versatility.

• Freestanding instead of being anchored by the wall accentuating the lighthearted atmosphere and versatility of each piece

• Easily moved around for gatherings

• Mahogany – preferred choice due to its strength• The use of mirrors hung above mantels became ever more popular in light of

the development of unblemished glass.

Fauteuil chair (open armchair)

A classic Louis XV Rococo fauteuil from the 17th century.

Sturdy and solidLots of serpentine curves in the seat rails, the back, arms, and the legs. Have a broad, rectangular appearance to them, but the shape is romanced with curves, carving, and gilding.

• Voyeuse chair

A Louix XVI VoyeuseBeechwood Late 18th century

The toprail, back and seat covered in chartreuse and ivory floral vine upholstery

Short legsSpecific purposeUpholsteredCushion at the top

• Bergere en gondole

Louis XV style painted bergere

Closed arm chair

• Console table

Italian rococo consoletable

Design for a table by Juste-Aurele Meissonnier, Paris ca 1730

Architecture• Lighter• More graceful• More elaborate version of Baroque architecture• Emphasis on asymmetry

• More secular adaptation of Baroque style• Themes are more light-hearted and jocular• Numerous curves and decorations• Use of pale colors

Catherine PalaceTsarkoe Selo, Russia1743-1756

Peter the Great for her wife Catherine I

facade

main entrance

Queluz Palace, PortugalMateus Vicente de Oliveira (main block)Jean Baptiste Robillon (west wing)1760

Augustusburg and Falkenlust PalacesBruhl, GermanyJohann Conrad SchlaunFrancois de Cuvillies1729-1740

Garden: Dominique GirardUNESCO World Heritage Site, 1984

The Chinese House (garden pavilion)Potsdam, GermanyEmmanuel Héré de Corny1763

Architectural trefoil

Interior Design• ly in control, sportive,

fantastic, and sculptured forms are expressed with abstract ornament using flaming, leafy or shell-like textures in asymmetrical sweeps and flourishes and broken curves

• suppress architectonic divisions of architrave, frieze, and cornice for the picturesque, the curious, and the whimsical, expressed in plastic materials like carved wood and above all stucco • walls, ceiling, furniture,

and works of metal and porcelain present a unified ensemble.

• Asymmetry of decorative elements, opulence and grandeur, elaborate and flowery ornaments, abundant gilded decoration.

• Favorite colours are pastel pink, lilac, blue and green (usually well combined or used individually).

• Frequent decorative elements are Rocaille, S-shaped and C-shaped curves, acanthus leaves, birds and flowers, chubby babies.

Integrated rococo carving,stucco and fresco at Zwiefalten, Reutlingen, Germany

Rundale Palace, LatviaGilded Hall done in German Rococo style

The Pilgrimage Church of WiesDominikus ZimmermanLate 1740Oval rococo church

Construction: between 1745 and 1754,interior was decorated with frescoes and with stuccowork in the tradition of the Wessobrunner School

"Everything was done throughout the church to make the supernatural visible. Sculpture and murals combined to unleash the divine in visible form".

Painting

• manifested clearly in painting• painters used delicate colors and curving forms• canvases decorated with cherubs and myths of love• portraiture was also popular • some works show a sort of naughtiness or impurity in the

behavior of their subjects• showing the historical trend of departing away from the

Baroque's church/state orientation• Landscapes were pastoral and often depicted the leisurely

outings of aristocratic couples.

Antoine WatteauMezzetinOil on canvas1717-1719

Watteau invented the genre of fete galantes: scenes of bucolic and idyllic charm, suffused with an air of theatricality. Some of his best known subjects were drawn from the world Italian comedy and ballet.

Jean Honorė FragonardThe Happy Accidents of the SwingOil on canvas17687-68

Francois Boucheroil on canvas1751

Sculpture• Best expressed through

delicate porcelain sculpture rather than imposing marble statues.

• The themes of love and gaiety were reflected in sculpture, as were elements of nature, curving lines and asymmetry.

Joseph WillemsPorcelain1700sAfter an engraving by Boucher

• The sculptor Edme Bouchardon represented Cupid engaged in carving his darts of love from the club of Hercules.

• This serves as an excellent symbol of the Rococo style—the demigod is transformed into the soft child, the bone-shattering club becomes the heart-scathing arrows.

Edmĕ BouchardonAmor fashioning a bow after the club of HerculesMarble1750

Étienne Maurice Falconet (1716-1791)Amour menaçant, LouvreMarble1750s

Franz Anton BustelliPair of LoversNymphenburg Porcelain1760

A traditional Rococo piece, dating from 1750-60, either French or German

Key terms• Rococo Late Baroque• Rocaille: stone• Coquilles: shell• Contraste• Chelsea Porcelain Factory• Acanthus• Fauteuil chair• Voyeuse chair• Bergere en gondole• Antoine Watteau