The Frivolity of the Rococo Period

This painting, in its most basic definition, is what makes the Rococo period. This is part of a four part series by Fragonard about the four stages of love. This painting is the second in the series. It features two lovers, perhaps star crossed lovers, only getting to meet each other for only a short time. There is a sense of urgency in the body language, like the lady might be looking towards where she escaped from her chaperone and holding off her lover, who has climbed up a ladder to visit her. The colors are very soft and the natural setting is pastoral, typical of the Rococo period. The structure of the painting is very thought out by the artist, because very front and center is a triangle between the woman, the man and the top of the statue's head. It also features characters in mythology, found in the statue, Venus (the goddess of love) and her son Cupid. I like this painting because it represents love, and the lengths that some will go to in order to obtain it.

This painting again portrays the frivolous nature of the Rococo period. These young lovers, who are all dressed finely, indicating wealth, are embarking on a pilgrimage to worship the Roman goddess of sex. It introduces the mythological aspect of this style, in the statue of Cythera, depicted in the corner. I like this painting because all of these people have enough time to go and visit the goddess of sex and love. The brushstrokes are very smooth, and unlike many of the other paintings, the background doesn't fade into just a mix of colors at such a short distance.

This painting is another example of the pleasures one took as a member of the aristocracy, with not a care in the world but what frivolous activity that you were going to do next. In this painting, the subject matter is again young members of aristocray who are enjoying the leisure that the pastoral setting can offer them. I like this painting because there is a certain escape factor, and you can almost insert yourself into the painting and be there too, enjoying the sights and sound of nature.

This portrait is of Madame de Pompadour, the chief mistress of Louis XV of France. Though she is non-noble birth, she soon gained a near noble place in society, even acting as an unofficial prime minister. She was a huge fan of the Rococo movement, commissioning artists to help decorate the royal pleasure house. This painting of her is of the different types of art that she enjoyed at the bottom. It is pastoral in nature, with the lightly colored flowers, and semi-mythological, with the cherubs. I like how, even though there isn't direct evidence of the Rococo period, it has the symbolic nature of this painting, and the softness and subtlety of the painting.

This is a landscape that is the epitome of the Rococo period, because it depicts the serene quaintness of the pastoral landscape, with the water and the slightly run down cottage in the front, and with ruins in the background, possibly depicting the ruins of another, more rigid style of art. I like this because there really is nothing to focus on immediately, it is just a painting that you can find an tranquil escape in.

This painting is really symbolic of why the French rebelled against the nobility in the French Revolution. The subject matter, which is the aristocratic lady at the very front and center of the painting is getting ready for a ball. She is relatively still, while the people around her depict a lot of movement and activity, suggesting work, which implies (in this period of time) a lower class than that of the noble lady. While the colors are darker, it still fits the Rococo period by depicting the lightheartedness of the hustle and bustle of getting ready for a ball in a domestic setting. I like this painting because, even though it is relatively subdued, you can still read the sense of anticipation that comes with getting ready for a major social event.

This is a painting that comes from the later portion of the Rococo period, but still counts because it depicts leisure of the higher classes in a natural setting at the elegant time of day. It is also by an British artist of the Rococo movement, which also explains the differences in fashion. I like this painting because it depicts how the Rococo extended everywhere, and didn't stay mainly in France.

This painting is the counterpoint in this exhibit, because it takes everything that the Rococo period is and it tears it down. Instead of the frivolities and pleasures of the nobility as the subject matter, it has the hard-working people of the lower class as its subject matter. The serene pastoral landscape is instead replaced by the harsh, burning field as a landscape.