BAROQUE ON A BINGE
Rococo art could be described as the Baroque period on a binge, it is extremely over the top in its art style, with heavy ornamentation, fanciful curves, extremely playful and bright colors, and scenery of pleasure.
Historical Context
The Rococo period was a period in which predominantly french artists reacted against the Baroque style. They despised its strict regulations on grandeur, symmetry and lines as well as its predominantly dark colors. In this way, they did the opposite. They made it very colored, with many curvy lines and extreme ornamentation.
The start of the Rococo style began when the King Louis XIV died, releasing the nobles from a life of serving his needs at Versailles. They felt liberated from his 72 year rule and began to party, leading a life of endless pleasure seeking. The Rococo style was derived from this, depicting many scenes like the activities the nobles participated in, like leisurely outings.
This large amount of pleasure seeking was largely paid for by the peasants. These people were the only people that were taxed, and they were taxed heavily to pay for the frivolous living of the nobility. This frivolous living is easily shown through the art style and subjects of Rococo art. This heavy taxation of the people eventually led to a massive uprising and the french revolution, an important event to come out of the this time.
The french people were organized into three estates. The Nobility, the First Estate, The Clergy, the Second Estate, The Commoners, the Third Estate. The Third Estate bore the brunt of the taxes, with the first two estates bearing none. This brought extreme poverty to anyone not considered the Clergy or Nobility. Eventually the Commoners had enough and revolted, mostly because of this extravagant living.
The people in France during this time seemed to move towards the negligence of their religion, especially the Nobility. The Nobility were pleasure seekers during this time, and so were almost completely opposite the values of the Christian religion.
The start of the Rococo style began when the King Louis XIV died, releasing the nobles from a life of serving his needs at Versailles. They felt liberated from his 72 year rule and began to party, leading a life of endless pleasure seeking. The Rococo style was derived from this, depicting many scenes like the activities the nobles participated in, like leisurely outings.
This large amount of pleasure seeking was largely paid for by the peasants. These people were the only people that were taxed, and they were taxed heavily to pay for the frivolous living of the nobility. This frivolous living is easily shown through the art style and subjects of Rococo art. This heavy taxation of the people eventually led to a massive uprising and the french revolution, an important event to come out of the this time.
The french people were organized into three estates. The Nobility, the First Estate, The Clergy, the Second Estate, The Commoners, the Third Estate. The Third Estate bore the brunt of the taxes, with the first two estates bearing none. This brought extreme poverty to anyone not considered the Clergy or Nobility. Eventually the Commoners had enough and revolted, mostly because of this extravagant living.
The people in France during this time seemed to move towards the negligence of their religion, especially the Nobility. The Nobility were pleasure seekers during this time, and so were almost completely opposite the values of the Christian religion.