Fragonard and the Rococo Masters of the French Court

The Rococo Masters of the French Court.

Table of Contents, Introduction to Rococo Art, The Palace of Versailles, Antoine Watteau 1684 –1721, Francois Boucher 1703 – 1770, Jean-Honoré Fragonard 1732 – 1806, Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin 1699 – 1779, Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun 1755 – 1842. Rococo is a period rather than a specific style. Often this 18th-century era is called "the Rococo," a time period roughly beginning with the 1715 death of France's Sun King, Louis XIV, until the French Revolution in 1789. It is often described as the final expression of the Baroque movement. The word Rococo was apparently a combination of the French rocaille, or shell, and the Italian barocco, or Baroque style. Due to Rococo love of shell-like curves and focus on decorative arts. Characteristics of Rococo include the use of elaborate curves and scrolls, ornaments shaped like shells and plants, and entire rooms being oval in shape. Patterns were intricate and details delicate. Rococo combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colors, sculpted molding, and trompe-l'œil frescoes to create surprise and the illusion of motion and drama. The Rococo style began in France in the 1730s as a reaction against the more formal and geometric Style Louis XIV. It was known as the style rocaille, or rocaille style. It soon spread to other parts of Europe, particularly northern Italy, Austria, southern Germany, Central Europe and Russia. The Rococo encompasses all the arts, particularly sculpture, furniture, silverware, glassware, painting, music, architecture and theatre. Although originally a secular style primarily used for interiors of private residences the Rococo had a spiritual aspect to it which led to its widespread use in churches, particularly in Central Europe, Portugal, and South America. The Rococo style of art emerged in France in the 17th century as a continuation of the Baroque style, but in contrast to the heavier themes and darker colors of the Baroque, the Rococo was characterized by an opulence, grace, playfulness, and lightness. Rococo motifs focused on the carefree aristocratic life and on lighthearted romance rather than heroic battles or religious figures; they also revolve heavily around nature and exterior settings. Louis XVI, the last King of France and the end of the Rococo Louis XVI, King of France, was the son of Louis, dauphin of France, the son of Louis XV, and of Marie Joseph of Saxony, and was born at Versailles on the 23rd of August 1754, being baptized as Louis Augustus. His father's death in 1765 made him heir to the throne, and in 1770 he was married to Marie Antoinette, daughter of the empress Maria Theresa. He was just twenty years old when the death of Louis XV on the 10th of May 1774 placed him on the throne. The French Revolution of 1789–1799 was a pivotal period in the history of French, European and Western civilization. During this time, republicanism replaced the absolute monarchy in France, and the country's Roman Catholic Church was forced to undergo a radical restructuring.