Rococo art

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Rococco art is art produced in Rococco style ( a style of artistic expression that emerged in france in late 17th and spread throughout the world till early 18th century)

The word is a derivative of french term "Rocaille" which means "rock and shell garden ornamentation"

People refer to it as "french style art" in a reference to its nature of origin. It is also referred to as late Baroque art because it developed as Baroque artists move away from symmetry to more fluid designs.

It began in 1699 when french king Louis XIV,demanded more youthful art to be produced under his reign.

Rococco art addressed the most important controversy of the time - colour versus drawing- and combined the two to create beautiful pieces. Artists of this period focussed more on attention to detail, ornamentation and use of bright colours.

Rococco Period was brief as social critics pointed to it as an example of general degradation go art and society.

Rococo furniture and architecture was a move away from symmetrical designs of Baroque to more light hearted asymmetrical designs.

In art light colours ,curvaceous forms and graceful lines became the characteristics of Rococo movement.

Canvasses were adorned with cherubs and myths of love ,while keeping the playful trend of the period ,portraiture was also popular.

Artists moved away from the intense dramatics of Baroque period and became more playful with their works.

While rococo originated in Germany it spread through other parts of Europe and was accepted with great enthu in Germany ,where some excellent examples of rococo art and architecture can be found today.

Although many artists flourished during that period the most renowned are Francois Boucher, Jeane Antoine Watteau and Jean-Honore Fragonard

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JEANE ANTOINE WATTEAU : 1684-1721

Father of rococo movement

Influenced all other artists with his mastery

Created works that were innovative in there asymmetrical designs and chose to paint idyllic happy scenes.

Focuses on exuberant happy people dancing around and enjoying themselves in beautiful settings. This imagery became known as his own genre-fetes gelantes

Although he died at young age his lucid fluid work is said to have revived the Baroque movement,invented the Rococo movement, and planted the seeds of successive art movements including impressionism.

some of his paintings were:

Embarkation for cythera

The Toilette

The delights of life

Venetian pleasures

FRANCOIS BOUCHER:1703-1770

Greatly influenced by Watteau

Moved beyond the confines of pleasant scenery towards more erotic imagery.

Most famous for depicting religious scenes with eroticism and painting portraits of Marquise De Pompadour,the mistress of king louis XV

He is also renowned for his brilliant tapestry work.

Some of his paintings were:

Brown Odalisque

Blond Odalisque

The birth of Venus

Leda and the swan

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JEAN-HONORE-FRAGONARD : 1732-1806

Most prolific of rococo artists

work was characterised by joyful subjects and scenery and bright colours and thinly veiled erotic imagery

Most erotic and exquisite work is the painting in 1767 "THE SWING". some more of his works were

The bathers

The shepherdess

Rinaldo in the gardens of Armida

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