The 18th Centuryin Europe and America

From Denis Diderot’s Encyclopedie, ca. 1750

Art of the Rococo

RococoDates and Places: • 1715 to 1780• France and England

People:• Aristocrats• Urban townhouses• Social intercourse,

cultivation of good taste(tete-a-tete)

• Royal art academies

Francois Boucher, Blonde Odalisque1752, oil on canvas

RococoThemes:• Fete galante • Leisure of the upper

classes• Ornament

Forms:• Small and delicate• Pastels• Feathery brushwork

CLODION, Satyr Crowning a Bacchante, 1770. Fig. 11-5.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GBhKrwdqjo

Dangerous Liaisons

1989

Directed by Stephen Frears

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GBhKrwdqjo

Rococo

FRANCOIS DE CUVILLIÉS, Hall of Mirrors, early 18th century. Fig. 11-2.

Rococo• Interiors totally

designed• Rocailles • Organic, playful,

moving decoration• Romantic themes

(cupids, etc)• Proper setting for

entertaining guests• Salons – Women held

considerable influence

FRANCOIS DE CUVILLIÉS, Hall of Mirrors, early 18th century.

Fig. 11-2.

Rococo

ANTOINE WATTEAU, Pilgrimage to Cythera, 1717. Fig. 11-3.

Rococo• Fete galante• New category of

painting• Color for decorative

effect, Rubeniste• Light and airy• Elegant sophistication• Sensuality and

sexuality• Allegory of romantic

love (Aphrodite) & stages of courtship

ANTOINE WATTEAU, Pilgrimage to Cythera, 1717. Fig. 11-3.

The Rococo in Contemporary Art

Fragonard, The Swing, 1766, oil on canvas, fig.11-4

Yinka Shonibare, The Swing (After Fragonard), 2001, installation

http://video.pbs.org/video/1281770054/

The Late 18th Century:

The Enlightenment

and Neoclassicism

From the Religulous movie poster, 2008

The EnlightenmentDates and Places: • 1700-1800 • Western Europe

People:• Replace faith with reason• Scientific, empirical

approach• Rousseau (“noble

savage”)• Positivism

ÉLISABETH LOUISE VIGÉE-LEBRUN, Self-Portrait, 1790.

Fig. 11-8.

The EnlightenmentThemes:• Nature and naturalness • Rejection of Rococo frivolity• Grand tour (pilgrimage to Italy)• Genre (humble daily life)• Satire of modern life &

sentimental subjects

Forms:• Empirical observation• Classicizing approach• Narrative clarity• “Grand Manner” in portraiture

JEAN-BAPTISTE-SIMÉON CHARDIN, Saying Grace, 1740.

Fig. 11-7.

The Enlightenment

JOSEPH WRIGHT, A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrery, ca. 1763–1765. Fig. 11-6.

The Enlightenment• Illustrates interest in

science and rationality

• Industrial Revolution transforms Europe

• Demonstration of mechanical solar system

• Observers embody Enlightenment age

JOSEPH WRIGHT, A Philosopher Giving a Lecture at the Orrery, ca.

1763–1765. Fig. 11-6.

The Enlightenment

WILLIAM HOGARTH, Breakfast Scene, from Marriage à la Mode, ca. 1745. Fig. 11-9.

The Enlightenment• English painter and

printmaker

• Satire of modern life

• Moralizing story of misbehaving upper class

• Narrative sequence like theater

• Comment on poor taste

WILLIAM HOGARTH, Breakfast Scene, from Marriage à la Mode, ca. 1745. Fig. 11-9.

NeoclassicismDates and Places: • Late 18th century• France, England, US

People:• Admiration for antiquity • Harmony and

rationality• Model of civilized

society: civic virtue and self-sacrifice

THOMAS JEFFERSON, Monticello, 1770–1806. Fig. 11-17.

ANDREA PALLADIO, Villa Rotonda, ca. 1550–1570.

NeoclassicismThemes:• Ancient history• Modern history• Portraits• AllegoriesForms:• Classical forms• Balanced

compositions• Idealized

figures• Gender roles

JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID, Death of Marat, 1793. Fig. 11-16.

About Schmidt2002

ANGELICA KAUFFMANN, Cornelia Presenting Her Children as Her Treasures, or Mother of the Gracchi, ca. 1785

Neoclassicism

JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID, Oath of the Horatii, 1784. Fig. 11-15.

Neoclassicism• Ancient Roman story• Allegory of French

Revolution• Self-sacrifice • Pose and gesture

communicate state of mind

• Triangular composition• David celebrates perfect

forms of Greeks

JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID, Oath of the Horatii, 1784. Fig. 11-15.

David’s drawing ofMarie Antoinette on her way to the Guillotine, 1793