The French Baroque and Rococo:

Two Styles at Odds

Lecture by Ivy C. Dally

South Suburban College

South Holland, IL

The Baroque in France: Classicism and Absolutism for the Public

• Art dominated by classicism: the influence of ancient Greek and Rome.

• Classicism seen as representing authority, order, and enduring tradition.

• Birth of the History painting.

• French artists studied in Italy but were recalled by King Louis XIII and had to make works for the royal family.

Poussin, The Abduction of the Sabine Women, 1633-1634.

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701. Figure 20.4

Elisabeth-Louise Vigee-Lebrun, Marie-Antoinette and Her Children, 1787.

Hyacinthe Rigaud, Portrait of Louis XIV, 1701. Figure 20.4

Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with St. John on Patmos, 1640. Figure 20.3

Jean-Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera, 1717. Figure 21.1

Loius Le Vau, Claude Perrault, and Charles Le Brun, East Front of the Louvre, Paris. 1667-1670. Figure 20.5

Palace of Versailles Exterior, Gardens, and Louis XIV’s Hall of Mirrors. Baroque Renovations begun 1661.

Nicholas Pineau, Views of the Varengeville Room of the Hotel de Varengeville, originally in Paris. © DavidTakesPhotos, Flickr.

The Rococo in France: Frivolity and Intimacy

• Rococo seen as the final phase of

the Baroque.

• Subjects of Rococo works show flirting, loves, and losses of the aristocratic class, as well as the simple (idealized) pleasures of country life. Sweet.

• Fete Galante: outdoor entertainment.

• Characterized by pastel colors, small scale, and doll-like human figures.

• In architecture focus is on lavish, curvilinear interiors.

Fragonard, The Swing, 1767. Figure 21.3

Since you now have a good understanding of the French Baroque, lets review what we learned about the Baroque in the Netherlands and the Rococo.

Venus and Adonis, mid- or late 1630s Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577–1640) Oil on canvas

The Toilet of Venus, 1751 François Boucher (French, 1703–1770) Oil on canvas

William Man Godschall (1720–1802), 1791, painted by John Russell. Pastel on paper, laid down on canvas

Herman Doomer (ca.1595-1650), 1640, painted by Rembrandt. Oil on wood