18TH CENTURY ART Historical Introduction the Art of The
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18TH CENTURY ART Historical Introduction The art of the eighteenth century is varied and complex in production, style, and subject matter. Long viewed as the ‘final breath’ of the Baroque style, recent scholarship has shifted away from this interpretation and moved towards a more inclusive interpretation of the artistic production from the period. The Rococo has been theorized as an aesthetic expression adaptable to numerous artistic forms: painting, interior decoration, decorative arts, architecture. The word Rococo possibly derives from is rocaille, French for "shell," a motif which appears frequently in Rococo art and architecture. However, the term Rococo was not applied to the movement as a whole until the nineteenth century; during the eighteenth century the style was simply known as the gout moderne or the modern style. The total effect of Rococo art is more fluid than the dramatic Baroque, its subject matter more capricious and playful, ambiguous, and sensual. The subject matter of Rococo paintings ranges from mythologies to theatre, playful pastimes to imagined architectural views. Antoine Watteau is largely credited with popularizing the Rococo ambiguous aesthetic whose origin was Paris (see François-Joseph de la Pierre, The Departure of the Commedia dell’ Arte from Paris in 1697). Watteau is also known for inventing the fête galante, a category of paintings of scenes of leisure populated by elegant, elite figures lounging in forested landscapes. From Paris, the Rococo aesthetic spread to the rest of the continent, across the channel and the Atlantic. Each location slightly adjusted the details of the style to suit regional tastes while adhering to the essence of the aesthetic. The Rococo as a style denies any specific formal and thematic characterizations that link the works of other European artists to those of France; however, Rococo works can be said to manipulate and play with conventions, are innovative and novel, and thoroughly modern. Thus English, Scottish, Italian, and Spanish iterations of the Rococo do not appear stylistically similar to French works. England and Scotland produced numerous portraits which broke with old traditions in favor of creativity and invention despite its continued use of the traditional genre (see George Romney’s Portrait of Lady Hamilton and Portrait of Lady Hamilton as a Bacchante attributed to Sir Joshua Reynolds). William Hogarth’s use of the Rococo aesthetic can be seen in the cosmopolitan nature of his works and their critical or satirical bent. Italian paintings of the eighteenth century were primarily concerned with the production of imagined landscapes and portraits sold to the British Grand Tourists (see Architectural Capriccio attributed to Antonio Joli). However, the Italian emphasis on color was similar to French artists’ (see Pietro Rotari’s Young Woman with a Sprig of Jasmine). American versions of the Rococo are mostly seen in the artistic adaptation of ornamental motifs on wooden furniture and silverwork (see Paul Revere’s Two Pepper Casters). Boston, Philadelphia, and Charleston, South Carolina were major centers for American Rococo design. Spanish artists, such as Francisco Goya, recast the fête galante into Spanish locations with modern dress; Goya’s works are known for their satirical or critical nature. MAA 12/2014 Docent Manual Volume 2 18th Century Art 1 18TH CENTURY ART Even though society was becoming increasingly secularly focused, religious works were still produced during the period, but in France they tended to become objects of personal devotion rather than large church commissions (see Hubert Robert’s The Hermit Frere Luce). However, in Germany and the surrounding areas, the rococo aesthetic was adapted to decorate Catholic churches and large commissions by the church remained available to artists (see St. Constantine and St. Helena attributed to Johann Wenceslas Grauer). German artists also exploited the inventive capabilities and qualities of Rococo decoration to push architectural ornamentation to its limits. Despite the innovations of their decoration, the ornament was meant to express joy and communicate divine presence. German artists also utilized the Rococo aesthetic in palace decoration and architects turned both secular and religious buildings into shells for decoration. The later part of the eighteenth century is characterized by the rise of Neo-Classicism which was a return to the aesthetic of the Greeks and Romans, but not a wholesale borrowing of the style of antiquity. Artists invented new compositions, focused on new parts of ancient myths and stories, and revived the practice of large-scale history painting. Interest in Greek and Roman cultural ideals informed the philosophical and political underpinnings of the French Revolution. Eighteenth-century works from the later part of the century were also influenced by the Enlightenment, an intellectual movement based on rational scientific inquiry and an optimistic worldview which was grounded in a firm belief in progress. The return to classicism has often been viewed as an anti-Rococo reaction linked to the influence of powerful female patrons of Rococo artists such as Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour. Criticisms of the Rococo aesthetic also echoed an artistic debate between line and color which originated during the Renaissance; color being emphasized in Rococo works while Neo-Classical artists focused on the use of line. By the last quarter of the eighteenth century, the growing preference for works based on antiquity had won over the favor of the French officials. Rococo art was still produced throughout the 1770s and 1780s, but its artists no longer received official commissions. Scholars often link the Rococo aesthetic with the absolutism of Louis XV and the Neo-Classical with the era of the French Revolution. (MAA 12/2014) MAA 12/2014 Docent Manual Volume 2 18th Century Art 2 18TH CENTURY ART Suggested Reading Boime, Albert. Art in an Age of Revolution, 1750-1800. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987. Burns, Sarah and John Davis. American Art to 1900: A documentary history. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. Craske, Matthew. Art in Europe, 1700-1830: A History of the Visual Arts in an era of Unprecedented Urban Economic Growth. Oxford History of Art ser. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Coffin, Sarah D. et al. Rococo: The Continuing Curve, 1730-2008. New York: Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, 2008. Goodman, Elise et al. Art and Culture in the Eighteenth Century: New Dimensions and Multiple Perspectives. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 2001. Milam, Jennifer. Historical Dictionary of Rococo Art. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2011. Park, William. The Idea of Rococo. Newark: University of Delaware Press, 1992. Scott, Katie. The Rococo Interior: Decoration and Social Spaces in Early Eighteenth-century Paris. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995. Tarabra, Daniela. European Art in the Eighteenth Century. Rosanna M. Giammanco Frongia, trans. Art through the Centuries ser. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008. Zafran, Eric M. The Rococo Age: French Masterpieces of the Eighteenth Century. Atlanta, GA: High Museum of Art, 1983. --. Renaissance to Rococo: Masterpieces from the Wadsworth Atheneum. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. MAA 12/2014 Docent Manual Volume 2 18th Century Art 3 .