rococo 1700-1760. background grew out of baroque movement highly decorative…building upon the...
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Background
• Grew out of Baroque movement• Highly decorative…building upon the lavish use of
expensive materials found in Baroque…bronze, marble etc
• Dominant center is France• Louis the XIV is gone and Louis the XV is not as
formal…more lighthearted• Rococo most likely came from french word: rocaille
=meaning rock and shell garden ornamentation • Beauty and whimsy over intellect • Themes: Romance, mythology, everyday life for
aristocracy, religion, history, & fantasy
Characteristics
• Over the top ornamentation• Highly gilded• Curved, asymmetrical forms• Graceful movement• Delicate colors• Feminine appeal• Great interior embellishments• Portraiture for rising middle class and aristocracy• Use of wood then gilding for medium
Francois Boucher (1703 - 1770)
•French Painter
•Parent is artist and taught Francois at early age
•Began artistic career as an engraver, meticulously copying the paintings of Watteau
•Won the prix de Rome in 1723
•Patroness in Madame de Pompadour…extremely influential in Rococo movement
•Decorated her palace with paintings of mythological subjects
Angelica and
Medoro 1763oil on
canvas
Jean-honore Fragonard 1732 - 1806
• Born in France • Studied under Boucher and in Italy• Loved italian landscapes as subject• Skill earned him the place as leader of Rococo
movement• Painting “The Swing” epitomizes period• Works challenged concepts of propiety• Died in poverty when Rococo ended and Neo-
Classism came
Jean-Antoine Watteau
• October 10, 1684 - July 18, 1721 • Born in Flemish town of Valenciennes, part of France• Studied painting as youth• Moved on to Paris for better training• Initially worked as copy artist for popular dutch and
flemish styled paintings• Established his own “sketch-like” style and became
known as one of the first Rococo artists • It is said that he created the genre of “fetes galantes” :
scenes of bucolic & idyllic charm in a theatrical manner
Etienne-maurice Falconet
• 1716 - 1791
• director of the Sevres factory from 1757 to 1766
• Moved to Russia and worked for Catherine II
• Created famous sculpture of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg 1782
Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli 1700-1771
• Italian born,
• Russian naturalized
• Father a sculptor
• First traveled to Russia with father
• Later, appointed senior court architect
Resources
• http://wwar.com/masters/movements/rococo.html
• http://www.jean-antoine-watteau.org/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Bartolomeo_Rastrelli