Rococo
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About Rococo
Description of Rococo |
Rococo
Rococo was an 18th century style of French painting and decorative arts. Derived from the French world rocaille, Rococo refers to the shell-covered rockwork that was used to decorate artificial grottoes. The style was characterized by flowering vegetal forms and light coloring. Artists avoided the weighty historical and religious subject matter of the past, and concentrated on creating light-hearted and pleasurable compositions, leaving the viewer to focus on the beauty.
Jean-Honore Fragonard’s The Swing (1767)
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Rococo
Rococo was an 18th century style of French painting and decorative arts. Derived from the French world rocaille, Rococo refers to the shell-covered rockwork that was used to decorate artificial grottoes. The style was characterized by flowering vegetal forms and light coloring. Artists avoided the weighty historical and religious subject matter of the past, and concentrated on creating light-hearted and pleasurable compositions, leaving the viewer to focus on the beauty.
Jean-Honore Fragonard’s The Swing (1767) exemplified this aesthetic with its erotic, lush garden scene. Also influential to Rococo, Antoine Watteau romanticized the lives of young aristocrats in his paintings by incorporating shimmering pastels and dramatic lighting. Considered a painter of "fête galante," his pieces emulated the pleasure seeking spirit of the times.
Rococo celebrated youth and beauty, but also glorified pious life in Pastoral scenes. This misconception of peasant life highlighted the disconnect between the classes of 18th century France, leading to the French Revolution in 1789. Rococo was swiftly replaced by Neoclassicism: the signature visual style of the Emperor Napoleon in France.
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Examples of Rococo at Auction
Artists Associated with Rococo — 7 artists:
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