Rococo - Victoria Charles Art of Century

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Nattier, Marie Leszczynska, Queen of France, Reading the Bible, 1748.

      Oil on canvas, 104 × 112 cm.

      Musée national du château de Versailles, Versailles.

      Jean-Siméon Chardin, The Buffet, 1728.

      Oil on canvas, 194 × 129 cm.

      Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      Luis Egidio Meléndez, Still-Life with a Box of Sweets and Bread Twists, 1770.

      Oil on canvas, 49.5 × 37 cm.

      Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

      Graphic art, too, experienced an unexpected upturn; few people were privileged enough to participate in the life of the rich, but many desired to make for themselves a picture of the life of the rich and beautiful, and that was possible above all with copper plate engraving. The trade in engravings took on almost capitalistic features. At first, every engraver was responsible for the sales of their works; however, salesman eventually seized control, with great success. The art dealers would pay the artist pittance and then sell the work for a hefty profit. As legend has it, one of these publishers, Michel Odieuvre (1687–1756), was bent as if crippled with pain when he had to pay an engraver his well-earned money.

      Also of major importance, however, was the rise of porcelain, which Dutch merchant ships brought from China in ever greater quantities to sell in the European markets. Because of the high prices, efforts were being made to manufacture porcelain within Europe. Of great renown are the faiences of Delft where, as early as the beginning of the 17th century, several factories were set up that soon moved beyond producing the blue shades to polychrome ornamentation, more closely imitating the Chinese models with decorative flowers and plants.

      In Germany, Johann Friedrich Böttger (1682–1719), the hardworking alchemist who desired to produce gold, spearheaded a similar development. Böttger and two colleagues in 1707 were the first to create a hard porcelain pot. With the energetic support of Prince Augustus I the Strong (1670–1753), the Meissen porcelain factory was built up, which from about 1740 enabled Meissen porcelain to reach its greatest heights. The leap from manufacturing pots with artistic embellishment to the creation of figures was driven forward in particular by Johann Joachim Kändler (1706–1775). Delicate shepherdesses, miniature cavaliers and fine petite ladies characterised the Rococo period. In the same manner, iconic interior decoration can now be viewed as a product of the Rococo style.

      Élisabeth Vigée-Le Brun, Portrait of Stanislaw August Poniatowski, 1797.

      Oil on canvas, 101.5 × 86.5 cm.

      Kiev Museum of Western and Oriental Art, Kiev.

      Thomas Gainsborough, Mrs. Siddons, 1785.

      Oil on canvas, 126 × 99.5 cm.

      The National Gallery, London.

      Joshua Reynolds, Lavinia Bingham, 1785–1786.

      Oil on canvas, 62 × 75 cm.

      Collection of Earl Spencer, Althorp House, Northampton.

      Thomas Gainsborough, Mary, Countess Howe, c. 1760.

      Oil on canvas, 244 × 152.4 cm.

      Kenwood House, London.

      Rivalry between the courts produced a whole series of porcelain factories, for instance in Vienna, Berlin and Ludwigsburg, Chelsea in England and Capodimonte near Naples in Italy. In France, Sèvres took on the leading role from 1756. There they adhered to technical principles and produced a more vitreous, more transparent porcelain which contained lead and, because of the gentler firing, allowed a greater range of colours. It was used less for tableware and much more for the manufacturing of luxury vessels. Thus it was due to this trend in Sèvres that the Baroque forms were retained significantly longer in the production centres.

      The ways in which porcelain was suited to the forms of Rococo decoration are illustrated by its ability to harmonise with changes in artistic conventions. It was intended for use in the inner rooms of the courts and big houses, and if these were to be decorated in the right fashion, then the architectural ornamentation had to be in tune with it.

      In the case of furniture, the powerful forms of the Baroque were now followed by the delicate, undulating lines of Rococo. Wood was frequently given a coat of white paint before being gilded or given an artistic design, and the feet of furniture were finished off with bronze shoes, the slipper-like caster-sockets. The very height of fashion was the so-called Boulle furniture, named after Andre-Charles Boulle (1642–1732), which was distinguished by its inlaid work of wood, metal or tortoise shell. This was also the age of the chaise longue or “long chair” – an invention which allowed ladies with their voluminous crinoline skirts to lower themselves, or when the right chance presented itself, to sink down more easily than onto a seat with arms.

      The story of architecture in the 18th century is exciting. Ingenious master builders and architects created great masterpieces of intellect, sensitivity and creativity. In this case, it is more than risky to try to describe in a few pages, in anything like the appropriate detail, almost one hundred years of architectural history. The examples included in this discussion are an aid to understanding and experiencing the fascinating story of the development of Rococo.

      George Romney, The Leigh Family, 1768.

      Oil on canvas, 185.8 × 202 cm.

      National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

      I. Rococo in France

      Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1767.

      Oil on canvas, 81 × 64.2 cm.

      The Wallace Collection, London.

      François Boucher, Madame de Pompadour, 1759.

      Oil on canvas, 91 × 68 cm.

      The Wallace Collection, London.

      The natural reaction against the monarchy, which brusquely cut itself off on all sides and expressed its majesty only in stiff pomp and frivolous ceremonies, particularly from the time when lucky victories ceased to gild the dictator in total brilliance, stirred resistance both in noble circles and in the upper bourgeoisie. The desire for a freer life and open expression was born. Art followed the trend of the age and changed its ideals. The volte-face (turn around) can be seen in the architecture, decoration and artistic representations. The emphasis was placed on nature, which is not to say that now the popular fidelity to nature triumphed, but in relation to the pompous, heroic character assumed by the age of Louis XIV, the fashions and practices above all had certainly grown somewhat more natural. A courtly idyll was being played out, and nature was donned like a mask.

      Fashion

      At the start of the 18th century, the corset was reintroduced into the fashion realm. Since undergarments come into direct contact with the skin, they have always been an object of male fantasy. The corset on the body assumed the same function as scaffolding on a building. The function of the corset was to give effect to the bodily forms in accordance with the fashion. The corset restricted the body in compliance with fashion, and in doing so often had no regard for the natural shape of its wearer. The breasts were rounded, lifted, beautifully shaped or pressed flat; the hips became narrower or spread wider.

      The corset was sometimes coordinated with the wardrobe or with other underwear such as the petticoat, and it was dependent on fashion and thus the object of vitriolic criticism. Its champions regarded it as the symbol of

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