HISTORY TEST 4 HISTORY TEST 4

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Question 1
The Rococo period occurred during the Mid-18
th
century, starting in the 1730s and lasting
till the 1760s. It showed considerable influence on several artistic ventures such as painting,
sculpture, Interior design and decoration, literature, music and theatre. It was mostly a
design style and as suchhad very little influence over exterior architecture.
In France, the Baroque and Rococo were adjacent periodsof artistic styles that exhibited
two entirely distinct sensibilities; The Baroque era was a grand display of exuberance and
provocativeness while the Rococo expressed lightness and playfulness within elaborate
decoration. The differences between the two periods can be summed up in regards to
mood, function and design.
Rococo Interior : Bedroom of the Duchesse dAumale ~Chteau de Chantilly, France.
Mood
The Rococo had its inception in France unlike the Baroque which stemmed in Italy then
gradually spread to other parts of Europe. The Rococo was an art form, one that was not
applied to exterior architecture like the Baroque, but was an expression of art and the
interior; Baroque decoration was commonly applied to church interiors yet the Rococo style
was not. And while the Baroque celebrated formality and ceremony, the society under Louis
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XV during which the Rococo spread, was concerned with comfort, warmth, privacy and
informality.
The Baroque aesthetic was generally a serious and somber one; while the Rococo embraced
frivolity, elegance and fantasy. Baroque tended to lean towards colors that were bold and
contrasting unlike the Rococo which tended towards gold and white and pastels. Artificial
light and use of mirrors was a component of interior design in both styles but the Baroque
uniquely emphasized bold contrasts by using highlighting and shadow. While lighting was
important in Rococo style it was used to create feelings of warmth and intimacy sometimes
with French windows and with artificial light sources inherited from the Baroque, in the
form of candlesticks, wall brackets, candelabra, and chandeliers. As in the Baroque, interiors
were often decorated withmirrors, but in the Rococo, they become larger in scale and more
extensively used.
A Rococo Era Mirror
Function
The Baroque era saw several two story salons which were replaced by one story salons
which were more preferred as when the room sizesbecame smaller people were more
concerned with comfort rather than the need to impress guests. Asymmetry one of the key
components of the Rococo style was not just limited
to dcor by embracing curved lines and corners, but
also in room shape. An example of this is the Htel
dAmelot, designed by Gabriel-Germaine Boffrand. It
included a pentagonal anteroom and a curved stair
hall designed for privacy and convenience.
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Curved Staircase, Hotel dAmelot
Design
Classicism, which was so extensively utilized during the Baroque period, waned during the
Rococo era. The Roman orders were mostly abandoned in so far as Rococo interior
architecture. Baroque rigidity and precision was replaced with Rococo floridity and
gracefulness. In Baroque interiors, pilasters lined the walls set with frames and panels.
Ornamentation on stucco and in wood included scrollwork, "grotesque" designs and trompe
loeil paintings and frescoes. Tapestry was used and chimneypieces were prominent and
lavish.
In contrast, Rococo decoration was used to create a sense of flow with abstract and
asymmetrical detail. Walls would not have a full entablature and the angle between wall
and ceiling were eliminated by plaster covers in the corners. Rococo surface decoration, on
ceiling and walls, favoured shallow relief and depressed or semi-circular arches. Decoration
was asymmetrically styled, yet unified. Rococo dcor was about dreams and the fantasy
stucco and carvings included shapes and images of flowers, shells, bats wings, festoons,
garlands and fountain jets. Baroque sensibilities delineated common people from royalty
but Rococo admired, if not idealized humanistic and even carnal inclinations of life. Even the
furniture of the Rococo was more delicate and light.
Furniture and Interiors
Baroque interiors were considered an extension to the overall architecture of a structure
and were mostly designed by the architects in charge who directed various artists to paint
or sculpt the interior features. Furniture was given very little thought regarding how it
would fit in with the rest of a room.
Rococo interior style on the other hand was developed by craftspeople and designers rather
than architects. The Rococo era strategically usedthe concept of interior design. Furniture
and interior were regarded as one element meant to harmonize and create a unified effect
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so much so that often furniture was custom made; specifically created to compliment
interior embellishments. Great fore-thought was given to the placement of furniture and
often the shape of a chest, mirror or console would be framed out in stucco or wood carving
on the wall. In addition the decorative features of the furniture would mimic the
architectural decorations creating an integrated result.
Growing merchant and aristocratic classes played a large part in shaping the direction of the
Rococo era. Since their lifestyles were much less formal they demanded furniture and
interiors that complimented their situation. Furniture became lighter, smaller and more
curvaceous. Cabriole legs on chairs, chests and tables made their first appearance.
Cabriole Legged Chair
Many new types of chairs such as the chaise lounge emerged that reflected a greater
demand for comfort. Tables too, changed in various ways. For example, cross-stretchers
became obsolete and baluster and pedestal legs were superseded by S-curved and cabriole
legs. The mirror which had been important to the Baroque interior became paramount.
Cross-stretched tables became obsolete
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As a personal preference I do like the Rococo period especially in regards to the Baroque era
which I found to beheavy handed and a bit ostentatious for my taste. I preferred the lighter,
more graceful style of this period.
I quite liked the creativity and freedom that was implied in Rococo forms and the way the
rococo style upped the ante in terms of liveability and refinement. Speaking from a visual
standpoint, I like the idea of the toned down elements that the Rococo era offered. I think
the quote by Oscar Wilde - Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess -
successfully applies here.
Word Count 985
Bibliography
Baroque and Rococo : Art & Culture, Minor, Vernon
History of Interior Design, Pile. John.
www.wikipedia.org
www.arthistory.com
Question 2
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The Rococo style beganin France but became a major design aesthetic by the mid-
1700s. It spread in a short time to other parts of Europe but its influence was most
strongly acceptedin Southern Germany and Austria. Elements of the Rococo were
expressed to some extent in the other countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy, but
not as extensively as in central Europe and perhaps mostly adjacent to other design
aesthetics like the Baroque.
The Rococo style spread with French artists and engraved publications. The distribution
of illustrated books throughout Europe particularly those containing decorative
engravings were significant in allowing for the spread of the Rococo. Many of the most
distinguished French Rococo architects and craftsman produced these books; Jean
Berain was a French painter and engraver of whom many Rococo style ornamental
designs were published in a book of illustrations in 1711 called the Oeuvre de Jean
Brain; this work would inspire emergingRococo ornamental design in the decades to
come.
Le Dejeuner by Francois Boucher, demonstrates elements of Rococo. (1739, Louvre)
These works were readily received in the Catholic parts of Germany, Bohemia, and
Austria, where it was merged with the lively German Baroque traditions. Particularly in
the south, German Rococo was applied with enthusiasm to churches and palaces.
Architects often draped their interiors in clouds of fluffy white stucco. In Italy, the late
Baroque styles of Borromini and Guarini set the tone for Rococo in Turin, Venice, Naples
and Sicily, while the arts in Tuscany and Rome remained more loyal to Baroque.
Italy
Italy was not immediately influenced by the Rococo, since by the early 18th century rich
Italian landowners were still constructing their palaces in the conservative Baroque
style, but by the 1710s and 1720s, Italian architecture and interior design became more
feminine and lighter in light of the Rococo Era.
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Italian Rococo interior design was in essence copied from that of the Rgence and Louis
XV styles. However, some elements were changed, and there were regional differences
among the different cities. Italian Rococo furniture was usually upholstered with rich
and colorful fabrics, such as velvet and silk, and furniture was usually lacquered.
Furniture from Piedmont was typically very French in style, Lombardy produced more
sober and wooden furnishings, Genoa was known for its rich fabrics and colorful styles,
and Venice for its extravagant and luxurious interiors.
Sicilian Rococo furniture tended to be highly unusual, and even though was based on the
principles of French Rococo designs, usually included some traditional Sicilian elements.
Sicilian Rococo Table
Rome remained possibly the most conservative city in Italy, and noblemen tended to
prefer the grandiose majesty of Baroque interiors than the frivolity and grace of its
Rococo counterpart. However, there were some elements which made Roman Rococo
relatively distinguished, such as the bureau-cabinets made for Pope Pius VI
Bureau Cabinet built for Pope Pius VI
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Venice arguably produced the most unusual and refined Rococo designs. Venetian
Rococo was well known for being rich and luxurious, with usually very extravagant
designs. Venetian bedrooms were usually sumptuous and grand, with rich damask,
velvet and silk drapery and curtains, a beautifully carved Rococo beds with statues of
putti, flowers and angels. Venice was especially famous for its beautiful girandole
mirrors, which remained amongst, if not the, finest in Europe.
Venice Rococo bedroom
Germany
Baroque palaces built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries in the capitals of
Germanic states in imitation of Versailles, helped to preserve that style from the
unsettling effects of Rococo. However, by around 1750, thanksin large to the circulation
of French, Italian and English designs printed in Nuremburgand Augsburg, Rococo
trends were attaching themselves to cumbersome Baroque forms. Shortly afterwards,
shapes were beginning to assume a livelier and more curvaceous appearance. German
designers, once having embraced this new style, carried it to unparalleled extremes.
Example of a German Rococo Interior is
Spain
it was the French version of Rococo that influenced Spain most during the first half of
the 18th century. A good example of this is La Granja Palace at Segovia, which wasbuilt
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in 1721. Armchairswere based on the Louis XV fauteuil, but with an interesting
difference. An example is a suite of chairs and settees designed for the Royal Palace at
Madrid by a Neapolitan, Gasparini, which are veneered in rosewood with ebony inlay,
whereas French seat furniture of the period was hardly ever veneered.

La Granja Palace, Segovia Retreat Room at the Palace.
Other chairs display English influence. Considerable quantities of English handmade
furniturewere imported into Spain and Portugal in the first half of the 18th century, and
Spanish craftsmen copied the Queen Anne and early Georgian versions of the cabriole
leg and the mid Georgian 'ribbon' back. A wholly Spanish flavour was often provided
however, by painting these chairs black and picking out the carving in gold.
Portugal
Rococo architecture entered Portugal through the north, while Lisbonremained in the
Baroque. Its an architecture that follows the international taste in decoration, and, as a
result of the contrast between dark granite and white walls, has a clearly Portuguese
profile.
Andr Soares worked in the region of Braga, and produced some of the main examples
such as Falperra Sanctuary, Congregados Church, the Braga City Hall and Casado Raio,
among many others.
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Falperra Sanctuary, Portugal
England
In England the Rococo was mostly ignored except in a few instances. When the Rococo
was integrated into the native stylistic trends, it was done so mostly by way of texts
books of engravings, patterns or design or in the manner of art, etchings and paintings.
Rococo in England was always thought of as the "French taste." The architectural trends
never caught on, though silverwork, porcelain, and silks were strongly influenced by the
continental style.
The Rococo style was demonstrated elsewhere in Europe of course, like in the
Amaleinborg Palace in Denmark.
Word Count 950
Bibliography
Rococo: The Continuing Curveby Sarah D. Coffin and Gail S. Davidson (25 Apr 2008)
Baroque and Rococo (World of Art)by Germain Bazin (1998)