Rococo art emerged as a lighter, more playful style compared to Baroque. It featured delicate colors, curving lines, and whimsical subjects. This shift reflected changing tastes in 18th-century France, moving away from grand religious themes to intimate, decorative scenes.

Prominent Rococo artists like Boucher and Fragonard created works that celebrated elegance and pleasure. Their paintings, often set in lush gardens or opulent interiors, captured the spirit of aristocratic life and the pursuit of happiness championed by Enlightenment thinkers.

Characteristics and Influences of Rococo Art

Rococo vs Baroque characteristics

• Rococo art characterized by lighter, more delicate colors and pastel hues creates a softer, more feminine aesthetic compared to Baroque
• Graceful, curving lines and organic forms in Rococo convey a sense of elegance and fluidity (arabesques, scrolls)
• Playful, whimsical, and frivolous subject matter in Rococo reflects a shift towards lightheartedness and pleasure (fête galante scenes, romantic encounters)
• Intimate scale and decorative emphasis in Rococo suited for private salons and boudoirs, contrasting with Baroque's monumental public spaces (Fragonard's "The Swing")
• Asymmetrical compositions and ornate details in Rococo break from the strict symmetry and geometry of Baroque (Boucher's "Triumph of Venus")
• Baroque art features dramatic lighting and intense chiaroscuro creates a sense of depth and dynamism (Caravaggio's "The Calling of St. Matthew")
• Monumental scale and grandeur in Baroque conveys power and authority, often in religious or political contexts (Bernini's "Ecstasy of Saint Teresa")
• Symmetrical compositions and geometric forms in Baroque reflect a desire for order and stability (Rubens' "The Elevation of the Cross")
• Emotionally charged and dynamic scenes in Baroque engage the viewer and evoke strong feelings (Rembrandt's "The Night Watch")
• Rich, deep colors and bold contrasts in Baroque create a sense of drama and intensity (Velázquez's "Las Meninas")

Cultural influences on Rococo

• Rise of French bourgeoisie and decline of monarchy's power shifts tastes towards more intimate, private spaces and decorative arts (Boucher's interior designs)
• Reaction against formality and grandeur of Baroque period leads to desire for lightheartedness, elegance, and refinement in art and architecture (Watteau's fête galante paintings)
• Influence of Enlightenment and Age of Reason emphasizes pleasure, leisure, and pursuit of happiness, rejecting religious and moral austerity (Fragonard's "The Swing")
• Patronage of aristocracy and French court, particularly Madame de Pompadour, mistress of Louis XV, shapes Rococo style as reflection of aristocratic lifestyle and values (Boucher's portraits of Madame de Pompadour)

Prominent Rococo artists

• François Boucher (1703-1770) painter known for sensual, idyllic scenes and mythological subjects ("The Triumph of Venus," "The Toilet of Venus," "The Swing")
• Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806) painter celebrated for romantic, lighthearted genre scenes and landscapes ("The Swing," "The Progress of Love," "The Bolt")
• Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) pioneered fête galante genre depicting elegant outdoor gatherings and entertainments (masterpiece "Pilgrimage to the Isle of Cythera")
• Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770) Italian painter and printmaker known for luminous, airy frescoes and altarpieces (Würzburg Residence, Royal Palace in Madrid)

Themes in Baroque and Rococo

• Baroque themes include religious and mythological subjects with moralizing messages (Rubens' "The Elevation of the Cross"), dramatic historical events and battles (Velázquez's "The Surrender of Breda"), grandiose portraits of rulers and nobility (Rigaud's "Portrait of Louis XIV"), and tenebrism and interplay of light and shadow (Rembrandt's "The Night Watch")
• Rococo themes include pastoral scenes and idyllic landscapes (Boucher's "The Four Seasons"), romantic, lighthearted genre scenes of everyday life (Fragonard's "The Bolt"), mythological subjects treated with playfulness and eroticism (Boucher's "The Triumph of Venus"), chinoiserie and exotic, oriental motifs (Watteau's "The Chinese Garden"), and decorative elements such as shells, scrolls, and foliage (Meissonnier's interior designs)
• Both styles incorporate allegorical figures and personifications (Rubens' "The Allegory of War" and Boucher's "The Arts and Sciences"), classical references and architectural settings (Poussin's "Et in Arcadia Ego" and Panini's "Interior of an Imaginary Picture Gallery"), illusionistic techniques like trompe l'oeil and quadratura (Pozzo's "Apotheosis of St. Ignatius" and Tiepolo's frescoes), and elaborate ornamentation and attention to detail (Bernini's "Baldacchino" and Cuvilliés' Amalienburg)