2. • Origin: Paris, France
• Date: 1700-1750
• Also known as “Late Baroque”
• Rocaille: stone
• Coquilles: shell
3. • Rococo an 18th-century artistic movement and style,
which affected several aspects of the arts, including
painting, sculpture, architecture, interior design,
decoration, literature, music, and theater.
4. In 1835, the Dictionary of the French
Academy stated that the word Rococo "usually covers
the kind of ornament, style and design associated with
Louis XV's reign and the beginning of that of Louis XVI.”
Louis XV Louis XVI
5. • Rococo is an entirely
interior style, because the
wealthy and aristocratic
moved back to Paris from
Versailles. Paris was already
built up and so rather than
engaging in major
architectural additions, they
simply renovated the
interiors of the existing
buildings. Palace of Versailles
6. Essence
• Reaction against the grandeur, symmetry and strict regulations of
the Baroque, especially that of Palace of Versailles
• If Baroque was melodrama, Rococo was light comedy.
• Rococo was a rejection of both the masculinity and the symmetry of
Baroque.
• Vertical lines were avoided
• Angles softened
• Turned over the clean stability of Louis XIV chairs and their motifs.
• Abandoned classical Roman and Greek ornament that had always
seemed to dictate taste.
• Designers created flowing, giddy, visually spectacular carving.
• France especially took these liberties—Chippendale’s version in
England tended to be “more cautious.”
7. • In the beginning, Rococo was connected to pieces of furniture
and then step by step progressed to architecture and other
art forms throughout the different parts of Europe.
• Also silver and ceramics.
8. Features
• Natural motifs (British style is more realistic than
French)
Longton Hall porcelain
factory
1755-1760
Soft-paste porcelain,
painted in enamels
9. • Elaborate carved
forms
Chimneypiece and Overmantel
Unknown maker
About 1750
Pinewood, marble and mirror glass
Rococo was a style developed by
craftspeople and designers rather
than architects. This helps to
explain the importance of hand-
worked decoration in Rococo
design.
10. • Asymmetry (also called contraste)
Vase
Derby Porcelain factory
1758-1760
Soft-paste porcelain,
painted in enamels
Rococo design is
often not symmetrical
- one half of the
design does not
match the other half.
11. • S and C scrolls
Dressing Table Mirror
Chelsea Porcelain factory
About 1756-1758
Soft-paste porcelain
painted with enamels,
moulded, engraved and
with gilt-metal mounts
and brass plaque
Curved forms are
common in Rococo. They
often resemble the letters
S and C.
12. • Rocaille
Chelsea Plate
18th century
PLATE of rococo
moulded form,
painted with a large
central rose, scattered
insects and flowers,
more flowers to the
border.
13. • Acanthus leaf
Sauce Boat
Philip Bruguier
1755-1756 (hallmarked)
Silver
The acanthus leaf is one of
the basic motifs of Rococo
design. It is not very closely
related to a real acanthus
leaf (Acanthus mollis), but is
rather a stylised version of
it.
14. Other features
• the cabochon, a raised oval-shaped ornament, like a
plain cameo, with carved leaves surrounding it
• the scallop shell, but with Rococo gaiety
• gilding throughout
• marquetry and painting
15. Furniture
• Lighthearted, physically and visually.
• Ornate, graceful
• Matching back and seat upholstery
• The idea of furniture had evolved to a symbol of status
• Took on a role in comfort and versatility.
• Freestanding instead of being anchored by the wall accentuating
the lighthearted atmosphere and versatility of each piece
• Easily moved around for gatherings
• Mahogany – preferred choice due to its strength
• The use of mirrors hung above mantels became ever more popular
in light of the development of unblemished glass.
16. Fauteuil chair (open armchair)
A classic Louis XV Rococo
fauteuil from the 17th
century.
Sturdy and solid
Lots of serpentine curves in
the seat rails, the back,
arms, and the legs.
Have a broad, rectangular
appearance to them, but
the shape is romanced
with curves, carving, and
gilding.
17. • Voyeuse chair
A Louix XVI Voyeuse
Beechwood
Late 18th century
The toprail, back and seat
covered in chartreuse and
ivory floral vine upholstery
Short legs
Specific purpose
Upholstered
Cushion at the top
18.
19. • Bergere en gondole
Louis XV style painted bergere
Closed arm chair
20. • Console table
Italian rococo console
table
Design for a table by
Juste-Aurele Meissonnier,
Paris ca 1730
27. The Chinese House (garden pavilion)
Potsdam, Germany
Emmanuel Héré de Corny
1763
Architectural
trefoil
28. Interior Design
• ly in control, sportive,
fantastic, and sculptured
forms are expressed with
abstract ornament using
flaming, leafy or shell-like
textures in asymmetrical
sweeps and flourishes and
broken curves
29. • suppress architectonic
divisions of architrave,
frieze, and cornice for the
picturesque, the curious,
and the whimsical,
expressed in plastic
materials like carved wood
and above all stucco
• walls, ceiling, furniture,
and works of metal
and porcelain present a
unified ensemble.
30. • Asymmetry of decorative
elements, opulence and
grandeur, elaborate and
flowery ornaments,
abundant gilded decoration.
• Favorite colours are pastel
pink, lilac, blue and green
(usually well combined or
used individually).
• Frequent decorative
elements are Rocaille, S-
shaped and C-shaped
curves, acanthus leaves,
birds and flowers, chubby
babies.
33. The Pilgrimage Church of Wies
Dominikus Zimmerman
Late 1740
Oval rococo church
Construction:
between 1745 and
1754,
interior was
decorated with
frescoes and with
stuccowork in the
tradition of
the Wessobrunner
School
"Everything was done
throughout the
church to make the
supernatural visible.
Sculpture and murals
combined to unleash
the divine in visible
form".
34. Painting
• manifested clearly in painting
• painters used delicate colors and curving forms
• canvases decorated with cherubs and myths of love
• portraiture was also popular
• some works show a sort of naughtiness or impurity in the
behavior of their subjects
• showing the historical trend of departing away from the
Baroque's church/state orientation
• Landscapes were pastoral and often depicted the leisurely
outings of aristocratic couples.
35. Antoine Watteau
Mezzetin
Oil on canvas
1717-1719
Watteau invented the genre
of fete galantes: scenes of
bucolic and idyllic charm,
suffused with an air of
theatricality. Some of his best
known subjects were drawn
from the world Italian comedy
and ballet.
38. Sculpture
• Best expressed through
delicate porcelain sculpture
rather than imposing
marble statues.
• The themes of love and
gaiety were reflected in
sculpture, as were elements
of nature, curving lines and
asymmetry.
Joseph Willems
Porcelain
1700s
After an engraving by Boucher
39. • The sculptor Edme
Bouchardon
represented Cupid engaged
in carving his darts of love
from the club of Hercules.
• This serves as an excellent
symbol of the Rococo
style—the demigod is
transformed into the soft
child, the bone-shattering
club becomes the heart-
scathing arrows.
Edmĕ Bouchardon
Amor fashioning a bow after
the club of Hercules
Marble
1750
