A Peek at Rococo

Pastel, frivolous, and light-hearted goodness

Did you know that “Rococo” came from the word “rocaille,” a term used to describe the Renaissance technique involved with mixing cement with shells, pebbles and other natural materials to have a decorative, intricate touch on grottos and fountains? After King Louis XIV passed away, the Rococo art movement came into fashion from 1730 to 1770 in France. Its influence gradually extended outside France’s borders and into other countries, especially in Italy, Germany, Austria, and England.

Rococo utilized warm pastels, ornamentation, attention to detail, and playful subjects. Specifically, in the decorative arts, there is a blatant emphasis on asymmetrical curves and the influence of nature. This contained all of the luxurious embellishments and advancements of the Baroque but with a sweet airiness of modernity. Rococo transcended traditional art into architecture, interiors, furniture, and other delicate trinkets.  A combination of sensual love and nature, everything was beautified, perfected, and seen through a rose-colored lens.

Some of the artists that defined this era were great names like Jean-Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, Louis Parat y Alcázar, Giambattista Tiepolo, and Élisabeth Louise Vigée-La Brun.

Check out our story to see some Rococo art in a much slower fashion.

And that’s art. 

Music: “Phase” is by Xylo-Ziko and licensed under (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This lovely song can be found through this link: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/Phase