Review Notes Rococo

Review Notes

Versailles and Rococo Art 

Vocabulary Words:

1.      Contrapposto (Con-trah-POST-toe):  the position of a human figure where the weight is on one leg, with twisting of the body on its vertical axis; sometimes called a weight shift

2.      Greco-Roman ideal: bodies have perfect symmetry & proportion; no wrinkles or other flaws

3.      Hall of Mirrors:  240 ft. long hallway added in 1678; the interior wall opposite windows lined with Venetian glass the same size/shape as the arched windows

4.      Fete galante (fayt gah-LAHNT): a frivolous [playful] painting showing an outdoor romp with “elegantly-attired young people”

5.      Grotto (GRAH-toe):  a cave

6.      Repousse’ (REE-poo-SAY): creating a metal relief by hammering and/or burnishing (rubbing)

7.      Bas-relief (BAH ree-leaf): a French term meaning “low-raised work,” where the forms stand out from the background  

Rococo Period:  1720 - 1800  

Characteristics of Rococo Art:

·         Started in Paris

·         Coincided with the reign of Louis XV

·         Interior decoration & architecture (floors, furniture, china, clothing, jewelry, walls)

·         “S” shapes, ribbons, flowery shapes

·         NO squares or straight lines  

Artworks to know (and why they are important):  (NOTE:  All artworks can be found by going to www.artcyclopedia.com and typing in the name of the artwork on the home page) 

AT VERSAILLES:

  • Hyacinthe Rigaud—Portrait of King Louis XIV
  • Gianlorenzo Bernini—Sculpture of King Louis XIV 

BY Jean-Honore FRAGONARD:

  • “The Meeting”--an example of fete galante
  • “The Swing”--one of his most famous paintings (because it was "scandalous") 

BY Elisabeth VIGEE-LEBRUN (portrait painter to Marie Antoinette):           

  • “Portrait of Madame du Barry:” she was the mistress of King Louis XV           
  • “Marie Antoinette and Her Children:” an “official portrait, contrary to the custom to be shown with children; Marie thought this portrait would make her more popular; cradle draped in black because their baby daughter Sophie died while the portrait was being painted; the dauphin, Louis-Joseph, stands at the cradle; Louis XVII is on her lap 

BY Adelaide LABILLE-GUIARD (portrait painter to Marie Antoinette):           

  • “Madame Adelaide de France:” this painting is of one of Louis XVI’s aunts; kept at Versailles; she hoped this painting would win her the French Art Academy’s highest honor  

Versailles:

•      A hunting lodge

•      Transformed into the largest palace in the world

•      a tribute to King Louis XIV

•      1682-1789—home to all French monarchs & families (“official” in 1682)

•      The “Hall of Mirrors:”  A 240-foot long waiting room in between the War Gallery & the Peace Gallery

•      front entrance to Versailles:  2 gates; the 2nd gate was destroyed during the Revolution; gates were locked at night but not during the day; those too poor or not allowed to have a hat & sword could rent those for an audience with the King

•      Guard room: 24 guards lived here all the time

•      Visitors had a written guide for the art

•      Mars’ Salon:  a ballroom; largest room in King’s apartments

•      Louis XV:  had the first roll-top desk created for him; Rococo-style astronomical clock; Mozart plays for him

•      Marie Antoinette’s symbols:  the Hapsburg eagle, the rose, & the peacock

•      85% of the pieces of the original hydraulic system in the fountains at Versailles are still working

•      The “Mirror Room” is at the Petite Trianon, which King Louis XVI gave to Marie Antoinette; mirrors cranked up to cover the windows

•      The outdoor courtyard  in Petite Trianon is tiled