Rococo Art
Decorative Arts Style of Louis XV France.
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Rococo Art Style (c.1715-1774)

Centred in France and emerging as a reaction to the Baroque grandeur of the Versailles court of the French King Louis XIV, the Rococo style succeeded Baroque Art across Europe. Associated especially with Madame de Pompadour, the mistress of the new King Louis XV, and the Parisian homes of the French aristocracy, it a whimsical and elaborately decorative style of art, whose name derives from the French word 'rocaille' meaning, rock-work after the forms of sea shells. In the world of Rococo, all objects, including painting, sculpture, wall-panelling, furniture, fabrics and wall decorations are subsumed within an ideal of elegant prettiness.

For a brief introduction to the architectural aspects of this art style, see: Rococo Architecture.

Rococo art is exemplified in works by famous artists like Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) especially his 'fete galante' outdoor courtship parties; Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806) with his pictures of love and seduction; François Boucher (1703-70) with his lavish paintings of opulent self-indulgence; the Venetian Giambattista Tiepolo (1696-1770) known for his fantastically decorative wall and ceiling fresco paintings; and the sculpture of Claude Michel Clodion (1738-1814), sculptor of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, best known for his terracotta statuettes of nymphs and satyrs. In Britain, Rococo painting achieved its zenith in the female portraits of Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88), such as Giovanna Baccelli.

Rococo was eventually replaced by Neoclassicism, which was the signature visual style of Napoleon in France and of the American revolution.

Famous Rococo Paintings

Jean-Antoine Watteau
The Embarkation for Cythera (1717), Musee du Louvre.
Jean-Honore Fragonard
The Swing (Les Hasards Heureux de L'escarpolette) (1767), Wallace Collection, London.
François Boucher
Portrait of the Marquise de Pompadour (1756), Alte Pinakothek, Munich.
Giambattista Tiepolo
Apollo Bringing the Bride (1750-1), Wurzburg Palace.
Thomas Gainsborough
Portrait of Anne, Countess of Chesterfield (1777), J Paul Getty Museum, LA.

• For other art movements and periods, see: History of Art.
• For 20th century artworks, see Modern Art, its successor Contemporary Art and Postmodernism.
• For a list of schools and styles, see Modern Art Movements and recent Contemporary Art Movements.
• For styles of painting and sculpture in Ireland, see: Irish Art.

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