Rococo

Holly and Patrick
Jessica Beagan
Art Project
Rococo Art



Rococo art is a very sensuous type of art. Rococo sculptures have been defined as the Baroque style eroticized (Sayre, 479). The Rococo art movement began in the early 18th century until the late 18th century and was said to be born of the Baroque movement (huntfor.com). During this time, new ideas about human existence were coming into play and brought optimism to many people. Rococo art objectified this optimistic feeling that people felt (huntfor.com). The word Rococo comes from the French word rocaille which refers to the small stones and shells that decorated the interiors of the grottoes. Grottoes were artificial caves that were popular in landscape design at the time (Sayre, 479). The Rococo style brought together erotic tones with the sensibility of the Baroque style. “Rococo art portrayed a world of artificiality, make-believe, and game playing…it was essentially an art of the aristocracy and emphasized what seems now to have been the unreflective and indulgent lifestyles of the aristocracy rather than piety, morality, self-discipline, reason, and heroism (all of which are found in the Baroque)” (huntfor.com). Pastel colors are characteristic of the Rococo style as well as a light-hearted mood, curving forms, and fanciful figures (huntfor.com).
The painting “Madame de Pompadour” by Francois Boucher is an example of Rococo art. Her dress is a pretty pastel color and the scene is very serene. She has an erotic sense about her as does the sculpture of the mother and child behind her. It is very light-hearted with her and her dog out in the yard just lounging about with all the gorgeous flowers around them. The whole scene is just very light and optimistic feeling like she doesn’t have a care in the world. She is very elegant and respectable and seems to be the epitome of an aristocratic woman of that time.
“The Bathers” by Jean-Honore Fragonard is another painting that is an example of Rococo art. The colors are very mellow and mostly pastel, a good example of Rococo colors. Rococo art was made to appeal to the French court. This was a sensual picture without being overly vulgar. They seem to be having fun in the picture without anything serious going on. It is very fanciful and has curving forms everywhere. It seems to portray the optimism of the people during the Industrial Revolution.
“Venus Consoling Love” is another painting by Francois Boucher that exemplifies the Rococo period. This painting is also very sensual with everyone in the picture being in the nude. This painting is outdoors surrounded by very surreal trees and flowers like most Rococo paintings. The colors are very typical of the Rococo period being very light and pastel. The goddess Venus is consoling the child Love. The cherubs are very relaxed and seem to be without a care. The scene is very serene with the puddle of water and the doves relaxing very calmly next to the people.
The statue of the “Nymph and Satyr Carousing” by Claude Michel Clodion is another example of art from the Rococo period. The purpose of this statue was to lend an erotic tone to its environment (Sayre, 479). The people in the statue are very playful and carefree. They seem to be enjoying themselves and to be very content in what they are doing and each other. They seem to be playing a game together. The statue seems to use a creative form of Greek mythology to draw its viewers into the fun. The satyr is a mythological being. The carefree attitude of the Rococo artists enables them to use fantasy in their artwork and not rely only on people and things that they see in everyday life. The forms in the statue are curving and free-flowing and not rigid in any way which is typical of Rococo art.
“The Swing” by Jean-Honore Fragonard is another typical Rococo art painting. This painting is also outdoors and in the carefree spirit of the Rococo artists. The girl seems to be thoroughly enjoying having the attention of two men and being pushed on the swing. The colors, again, are typical pretty pastel colors used in Rococo art. The sky in the background is cloudy, yet pastel blue. The statues in the yard and the woman lend the painting an erotic sense. She laughs as her shoe flies off her foot and she continues to enjoy herself. The sun shines through the clouds onto the girl and hits her dress just right to make the color stand out. The sun shining on her puts her in a spotlight of sorts and makes her the object of the painting.
These paintings totally epitomize the Rococo art style. They capture the light-heartedness and the fun-loving attitude of that time. This art was focused on the high-society, wealthy people of this period. It was not focused on morality or any other serious issue that other types of art focused on. At the end of the Rococo period, the French began to view it as “symptomatic of a wide-spread cultural decadence, epitomized by the luxurious lifestyle of the aristocracy” (Sayre, 480). Most of the paintings were people enjoying their leisure time. This would not happen as shown among the working class people. This art was not created for them and exemplified a lifestyle unknown to the common person at that time. This art was created for enjoyment and to show others enjoying their lives.

"Madame de Pompadour”
By Francois Boucher

“The Bathers”
By Jean-Honore Fragonard

“Venus Consoling Love”
By Francois Boucher


“Nymph and Satyr Carousing”
By Claude Michel Clodion

“The Swing”
By Jean-Honore Fragonard


Website Used
http://www.huntfor.com/arthistory/c17th-mid19th/rococo.htm