Rococo Art

Just as the building of Versailles is associated with Louis XIV, the most significant art movement in France in the first half of the 18th century is associated with his son, Louis XV. The term rococo comes from the French word meaning "shell" because the scallop shell motif is common in Rococo interior decoration. Whereas Rococo interior decoration spread to other countries, notably Germany, the painting style called Rococo is predominantly a French phenomenon. Here are some prominent characteristics:

• Rococo art, sometimes called a "feminized" version of the Baroque style, is associated with the aristocracy. Typically the paintings depict aristocrats or aristocratic leisure-time activities -- like courtship rituals, picnics in a harmonious natural environment, excursions to romantic places.
• The paintings feature beautiful aristocrats in gorgeous clothing. The figures are tall and slender, elegant and graceful.
• Often the paintings depict a peaceful natural setting with feathery trees and sprays of foliage. These are spring or summer settings without a hint of rain or any natural event to disturb the happiness of the actors in the setting. Often statues are depicted in these natural "parks"; the statues sometimes comment on the action in the paintings (for example, Venus and her son Cupid may approve of the flirtations going on).
• Colors are gentle, often pastels. Sometimes pink roses appear in unnatural profusion.
• These are happy paintings usually, as if the people in them hadn't a care in the world -- except perhaps not having their love requited. Although this style in art is contemporary with satire in literature, these artistic works are very different in mood and theme.

	Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)
	Embarcation for Cythera 1717
	One of the most famous examples of Rococo art, this painting depicts a party of aristocrats returning from the mythical island of Cythera, a place associated with Venus. How many of the characteristics listed above do you see in this work?
	Mezetin 1718
	Watteau is also interested in the psychology of love. Presumably the male in this painting is wooing a woman, but the statue in the background may indicate that his advances are being rejected. This work does have a melancholy theme but being rejected in a love suit hardly has the seriousness of some of the religious or political themes we examined in the art of the Baroque period.
	Francois Boucher (1703-70)
	Marquise de Pompadour 1756
	This is a typical Rococo portrait. The aristocratic woman, Louis XV's mistress, is elegant, beautifully dressed and coifed, and has the necessary lap dog. (Aristocratic males have large hunting dogs, poor people have mutts, and "ladies" have small lap dogs.) Note the profusion of roses.
	The Bath of Diana 1742
	Boucher is famous for his depiction of the nude female. Typically these women have prettified baby-doll features, porcelain flesh, and slender but mature bodies. This subject is made "respectable" because Diana is a mythical figure.
	Reclining Girl 1752
	This, however, is no mythical woman; she is yet another mistress of Louis XV. The absolutist monarch has certain sexual privileges! The "divine right" of kings apparently did not mean that the king was subject to the Commandments of the Divine.
	Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806)
	The Swing ca. 1766-69
	This famous painting depicts aristocrats at play -- and flirting. The hidden man on the left gets a look up his loved one's petticoat as her shoe goes flying off. What other elements of Rococo paintings are evident here?
	The Meeting 1771-3
	This painting is the first in a series called the "Progress of Love." Here the romantic swain jumps over a wall while his lover seems surprised. Is she? The statue may comment on the event, saying "Not yet." Note the elegant outdoor park, again with roses and feathery trees.
	The Stolen Kiss ca. 1766
	Aristocrats at play again. But note the date. In slightly more than two decades aristocrats would be worrying about their heads, not stolen kisses.
	Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842)
	Self-portrait 1790
	Before leaving France, we should note the works of an important 18th century woman painter who was very well-known are respected internationally. Vigée Le Brun was one of two female members of the French Academy for painters--a rare privilege and tribute both to her talent and political connections.
	Marie-Antionette 1784 Hubert Robert 1788
	She specialized in portraits, painting both fellow painters and aristocrats, typically flattering the latter in her depictions. She did a number of portraits of Louis XVI's wife, Marie-Antoinette, who was later executed, as he was, during the French Revolution.
	Varvara Ivanovna Ladomirsky 1800
	During the French Revolution Vigée Lebrun fled to Russia where she then did paintings of Russian aristocrats.
See also this site for additional information on Rococo art.