Background
An art style of something lavish and pastel colors are often referred to as Rococo. It is also an architecture style. It originated during the time to resist French King XIV’s style. The king preferred the Rocaille style, a style that consists of Baroque. King Louis XIV was the person who made the palace of Versailles, and he passed away in 1715. Louis XV inherited the throne and started to promote the Rococo style and shifted the audience of art to Paris.
What it is?
Rococo consists of pastel colors, curves, and many decorations. It is almost the opposite of Baroque in that it has dull colors, symmetricity, yet some decoration still remains. One of the most famous artwork that stands out during this era was The Swing by Fragonald. Notice how the colors are extremely saturated where there are pastel colors on the woman’s dress such as light pink. In addition, the lavish background adds on to how luxurious France was at the time. There’s also a hidden meaning in this painting that deserves to be specifically addressed, so look forward to our next article! Did you know, the movie Frozen has referenced their art in its first movie?
How to identify if something have a Rococo style?
Whenever you visit an art museum, you might as well question if something have a Rococo style. Here’s a checklist to go over.
- Was it painted in the 1700s?
- We’re the colors more vivid than the dim lighting painting styles?
- If there’s a person, is the person’s cheek extremely red?
- Was the decoration or background extremely lavish?
- If it’s architecture, are the lines made out of Cs and Ss instead of plain straight lines?
