HISTORY TEST 4HISTORY TEST 4RD02/0314/108A

NABAA AFRIDI

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Question 1

The Rococo period occurred during the Mid-18th century, starting in the 1730s and lasting till the 1760s. It showed considerable influence on several artistic ventures such as painting, sculpture, Interior design and decoration, literature, music and theatre. It was mostly a design style and as such had very little influence over exterior architecture.

In France, the Baroque and Rococo were adjacent periods of artistic styles that exhibited two entirely distinct sensibilities; The Baroque era was a grand display of exuberance and provocativeness while the Rococo expressed lightness and playfulness within elaborate decoration. The differences between the two periods can be summed up in regards to mood, function and design.

Rococo Interior : Bedroom of the Duchesse dAumale ~ Chteau de Chantilly, France.

Mood

The Rococo had its inception in France unlike the Baroque which stemmed in Italy then gradually spread to other parts of Europe. The Rococo was an art form, one that was not applied to exterior architecture like the Baroque, but was an expression of art and theinterior; Baroque decoration was commonly applied to church interiors yet the Rococo style was not. And while the Baroque celebrated formality and ceremony, the society under Louis

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XV during which the Rococo spread, was concerned with comfort, warmth, privacy and informality.

The Baroque aesthetic was generally a serious and somber one; while the Rococo embraced frivolity, elegance and fantasy. Baroque tended to lean towards colors that were bold and contrasting unlike the Rococo which tended towards gold and white and pastels. Artificial light and use of mirrors was a component of interior design in both styles but the Baroque uniquely emphasized bold contrasts by using highlighting and shadow. While lighting was important in Rococo style it was used to create feelings of warmth and intimacy sometimes with French windows and with artificial light sources inherited from the Baroque, in the form of candlesticks, wall brackets, candelabra, and chandeliers. As in the Baroque, interiors were often decorated with mirrors, but in the Rococo, they become larger in scale and more extensively used.

A Rococo Era Mirror

Function

The Baroque era saw several two story salons which were replaced by one story salonswhich were more preferred as when the room sizes became smaller people were more concerned with comfort rather than the need to impress guests. Asymmetry one of the key

components of the Rococo style was not just limited to dcor by embracing curved lines and corners, but also in room shape. An example of this is the Htel dAmelot, designed by Gabriel-Germaine Boffrand. It included a pentagonal anteroom and a curved stair hall designed for privacy and convenience.

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Curved Staircase, Hotel dAmelot

Design

Classicism, which was so extensively utilized during the Baroque period, waned during the Rococo era. The Roman orders were mostly abandoned in so far as Rococo interior architecture. Baroque rigidity and precision was replaced with Rococo floridity and gracefulness. In Baroque interiors, pilasters lined the walls set with frames and panels. Ornamentation on stucco and in wood included scrollwork, "grotesque" designs and trompe loeil paintings and frescoes. Tapestry was used and chimneypieces were prominent and lavish.

In contrast, Rococo decoration was used to create a sense of flow with abstract and asymmetrical detail. Walls would not have a full entablature and the angle between wall and ceiling were eliminated by plaster covers in the corners. Rococo surface decoration, on ceiling and walls, favoured shallow relief and depressed or semi-circular arches. Decoration was asymmetrically styled, yet unified. Rococo dcor was about dreams and the fantasy stucco and carvings included shapes and images of flowers, shells, bats wings, festoons, garlands and fountain jets. Baroque sensibilities delineated common people from royalty but Rococo admired, if not idealized humanistic and even carnal inclinations of life. Even the furniture of the Rococo was more delicate and light.

Furniture and Interiors

Baroque interiors were considered an extension to the overall architecture of a structure and were mostly designed by the architects in charge who directed various artists to paint or sculpt the interior features. Furniture was given very little thought regarding how it would fit in with the rest of a room.

Rococo interior style on the other hand was developed by craftspeople and designers rather than architects. The Rococo era strategically used the concept of interior design. Furniture and interior were regarded as one element meant to harmonize and create a unified effect

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so much so that often furniture was custom made; specifically created to compliment interior embellishments. Great fore-thought was given to the placement of furniture and often the shape of a chest, mirror or console would be framed out in stucco or wood carving on the wall. In addition the decorative features of the furniture would mimic the architectural decorations creating an integrated result.

Growing merchant and aristocratic classes played a large part in shaping the direction of the Rococo era. Since their lifestyles were much less formal they demanded furniture and interiors that complimented their situation. Furniture became lighter, smaller and more curvaceous. Cabriole legs on chairs, chests and tables made their first appearance.

Cabriole Legged Chair

Many new types of chairs such as the chaise lounge emerged that reflected a greater demand for comfort. Tables too, changed in various ways. For example, cross-stretchers

became obsolete and baluster and pedestal legs were superseded by S-curved and cabriole legs. The mirror which had been important to the Baroque interior became paramount.

Cross-stretched tables became obsolete

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As a personal preference I do like the Rococo period especially in regards to the Baroque era which I found to be heavy handed and a bit ostentatious for my taste. I preferred the lighter, more graceful style of this period.

I quite liked the creativity and freedom that was implied in Rococo forms and the way the rococo style upped the ante in terms of liveability and refinement. Speaking from a visual standpoint, I like the idea of the toned down elements that the Rococo era offered. I think the quote by Oscar Wilde - Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess -successfully applies here.

Word Count 985

Bibliography

Baroque and Rococo : Art & Culture, Minor, Vernon History of Interior Design, Pile. John. www.wikipedia.org www.arthistory.com

Question 2

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The Rococo style began in France but became a major design aesthetic by the mid-1700s. It spread in a short time to other parts of Europe but its influence was most strongly accepted in Southern Germany and Austria. Elements of the Rococo were expressed to some extent in the other countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy, but not as extensively as in central Europe and perhaps mostly adjacent to other design aesthetics like the Baroque.

The Rococo style spread with French artists and engraved publications. The distribution of illustrated books throughout Europe particularly those containing decorative engravings were significant in allowing for the spread of the Rococo. Many of the most distinguished French Rococo architects and craftsman produced these books; Jean Berain was a French painter and engraver of whom many Rococo style ornamental designs were published in a book of illustrations in 1711 called the Oeuvre de Jean Brain; this work would inspire emerging Rococo ornamental design in the decades to come.

Le Dejeuner by Francois Boucher, demonstrates elements of Rococo. (1739, Louvre)

These works were readily received in the Catholic parts of Germany, Bohemia, and Austria, where it was merged with the lively German Baroque traditions. Particularly in the south, German Rococo was applied with enthusiasm to churches and palaces. Architects often draped their interiors in clouds of fluffy white stucco. In Italy, the late Baroque styles of Borromini and Guarini set the tone for Rococo in Turin, Venice, Naples and Sicily, while the arts in Tuscany and Rome remained more loyal to Baroque.

Italy

Italy was not immediately influenced by the Rococo, since by the early 18th century rich Italian landowners were still constructing their palaces in the conservative Baroque style, but by the 1710s and 1720s, Italian architecture and interior design became more feminine and lighter in light of the Rococo Era.

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Italian Rococo interior design was in essence copied from that of the Rgence and Louis XV styles. However, some elements were changed, and there were regional differences among the different cities. Italian Rococo furniture was usually upholstered with rich and colorful fabrics, such as velvet and silk, and furniture was usually lacquered. Furniture from Piedmont was typically very French in style, Lombardy produced more sober and wooden furnishings, Genoa was known for its rich fabrics and colorful styles, and Venice for its extravagant and luxurious interiors.

Sicilian Rococo furniture tended to be highly unusual, and even though was based on the principles of French Rococo designs, usually included some traditional Sicilian elements.

Sicilian Rococo Table

Rome remained possibly the most conservative city in Italy, and noblemen tended to prefer the grandiose majesty of Baroque interiors than the frivolity and grace of its Rococo counterpart. However, there were some elements which made Roman Rococo relatively distinguished, such as the bureau-cabinets made for Pope Pius VI

Bureau Cabinet built for Pope Pius VI

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Venice arguably produced the most unusual and refined Rococo designs. Venetian Rococo was well known for being rich and luxurious, with usually very extravagant designs. Venetian bedrooms were usually sumptuous and grand, with rich damask, velvet and silk drapery and curtains, a beautifully carved Rococo beds with statues of putti, flowers and angels. Venice was especially famous for its beautiful girandole mirrors, which remained amongst, if not the, finest in Europe.

Venice Rococo bedroom

Germany

Baroque palaces built in the late 17th and early 18th centuries in the capitals of Germanic states in imitation of Versailles, helped to preserve that style from the unsettling effects of Rococo. However, by around 1750, thanks in large to the circulation of French, Italian and English designs printed in Nuremburg and Augsburg, Rococo trends were attaching themselves to cumbersome Baroque forms. Shortly afterwards, shapes were beginning to assume a livelier and more curvaceous appearance. German designers, once having embraced this new style, carried it to unparalleled extremes.Example of a German Rococo Interior is

Spain

it was the French version of Rococo that influenced Spain most during the first half of the 18th century. A good example of this is La Granja Palace at Segovia, which was built

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in 1721. Armchairs were based on the Louis XV fauteuil, but with an interesting difference. An example is a suite of chairs and settees designed for the Royal Palace at Madrid by a Neapolitan, Gasparini, which are veneered in rosewood with ebony inlay, whereas French seat furniture of the period was hardly ever veneered.

La Granja Palace, Segovia Retreat Room at the Palace.

Other chairs display English influence. Considerable quantities of English handmade furniture were imported into Spain and Portugal in the first half of the 18th century, and Spanish craftsmen copied the Queen Anne and early Georgian versions of the cabriole leg and the mid Georgian 'ribbon' back. A wholly Spanish flavour was often provided however, by painting these chairs black and picking out the carving in gold.

Portugal

Rococo architecture entered Portugal through the north, while Lisbon remained in the Baroque. Its an architecture that follows the international taste in decoration, and, as aresult of the contrast between dark granite and white walls, has a clearly Portuguese profile.

Andr Soares worked in the region of Braga, and produced some of the main examples such as Falperra Sanctuary, Congregados Church, the Braga City Hall and Casa do Raio, among many others.

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Falperra Sanctuary, Portugal

England

In England the Rococo was mostly ignored except in a few instances. When the Rococo was integrated into the native stylistic trends, it was done so mostly by way of texts books of engravings, patterns or design or in the manner of art, etchings and paintings. Rococo in England was always thought of as the "French taste." The architectural trends never caught on, though silverwork, porcelain, and silks were strongly influenced by the continental style.

The Rococo style was demonstrated elsewhere in Europe of course, like in the Amaleinborg Palace in Denmark.

Word Count 950

Bibliography

Rococo: The Continuing Curve by Sarah D. Coffin and Gail S. Davidson (25 Apr 2008)

Baroque and Rococo (World of Art) by Germain Bazin (1998)