HISTORY OF ART

The 17th century had been a period of religious

V. FROM ROCOCO TO confrontation and warfare. By contrast, the mid-18th

century, the Age of Reason, was a period of relative calm
NEOCLASSICISM in which all the arts developed a refinement and
elegance ­often small in scale-suited to satisfying simple
C.1700 - 1800 human needs and longings, rather than supporting
ideologies.

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QUESTIONS

• Where did Rococo begin? Who were the best known Rococo painters?
• Who painted in the Neoclassical style?
• What's the difference between Baroque and Rococo?
• What's the difference between Rococo and Neoclassicism ?
 At the heart of 18th-century thought and politics
was the Enlightenment-a belief that human

The
reason would resolve political and religious
dilemmas, explain the workings of the world, the
universe, and human nature, and create
Enlightenment harmonious relationships in which superstition,
tyranny, slavery, and oppression would be
eliminated. This emphasis on "a pursuit of
happiness" manifested itself in many ways
 The Enlightenment

+ The Enlightenment also liked intellectual and

emotional dualities. Thus the art, literature, and
philosophy of the 18th century are full of
references to the differences between sense and
sensibility, frivolity and morality, reason and
emotion, indulgence and sobriety, sensuality and
self-denial.

James Watt rotary steam engine, 1777 Britain's technological lead in

the second half of the 18th century gave it an advantage over its
European trading rivals. Industrialization
boosted productivity and lowered costs.
 From Rococo to Neoclassicism

This duality is equally well represented

in the two principal artistic styles of the
century: the Rococo with its light-
hearted subjects, delicate colors, and
asymmetric curves emphasizing
frivolity, and sensuality, and
Neoclassicism with its serious historical
subjects, straight lines, and precise
outlines prioritizing morality and self-
denial.

Goethe in the Campagna Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, 1787, 64 ½x81

in{164x 206 cm]. oil on canvas, Frankfurt: Stride /sches Kunstinstitut. Like many
other 18th-century writers and artists, Goethe visited Italy to seek inspiration
among the Classical ruins.
 From Rococo to Neoclassicism
France and England
The principles of the
Enlightenment were also reflected
in the politics of the two major
powers. English ideas were
filtered though a prism of robust
middle-class pragmatism; French
ideas through one of theory,
philosophical speculation, and
aristocratic otherworldliness.
Cry of Liberty and the Departure for the Frontier Le Sueur brothers, 1792,
print, Musee de la Ville de Paris. The French Revolution brought 10 years
of political chaos to France, during which the king and his family were
executed and Europe was plunged into war.
Jean-Antoine Watteau
- 1684-1721 - FRENCH - OILS; CHALK

The most important French painter of

the first half of the 18th century,
Watteau created a fresh, new,
unassuming style. He came from a
poor family and had indifferent health
throughout his short life.

Pierrot: Gilles 1721,72½x59in(185x 150 cm), oil on canvas,

Paris: Musee du Louvre. The character Pierrot: Gilles comes
from the form of Italian improvised comedy known as
commedia del/'arte.
 Jean-Antoine Watteau
- 1684-1721 - FRENCH - OILS; CHAL
He made exquisite red-and-
black chalk drawings, gouaches,
and pastels done from life,
which he used as a repertoire for
his paintings. These drawings
have become important
references. During the French
Revolution and with
Neoclassicism, his reputation
suffered, but his color-flecking
techniques influenced Delacroix
and the later Post-impressionists.
A Journey to Cythera 1717, 51 x 76 ½ in (129 x 194 cm), oil on canvas, Paris:
Musee du Louvre. It is not clear from Watteau's composition whether the
party is about to go to, or is departing from, the island of Cythera, the
birthplace of Venus.
Jean-Antoine Watteau
- 1684-1721 - FRENCH -
OILS; CHAL

Head of a Negro c. 1710-21, chalk on paper, London:

British Museum. Watteau was a master of the French
technique, trois crayons, a combination of red, black,
and white chalks set down separately on tinted paper.
Jean Chardin - 1699-1779 - FRENCH -OILS
Chardin was a diligent artist. He
producing exquisite small still
lifes and genre scenes that
demonstrate harmony of order,
sober color, as well as pleasure in
simplicity and relationships.

Still life by Jean Chardin, 1732, oil on panel, Detroit Institute of Arts. Although
a member of the pre􀁷tigious Royal Academy in Pans, Chard in was criticized
for not attempting more ambitious subjects. The son of a master carpenter,
and a man of simple ta5tes, he preferred to perfect What he knew he could
do best.
 +By the early 18th century, the heroic
certainties of the Baroque were giving
way to the elegant intricacies of the
Rococo (from the French "rocaille,"
3. THE ROCOCO meaning "shellwork," a recurring
motif in Rococo interior decoration). A
1921 - FRENCH - OILS conspicuously courtly painting style, it
appealed to sophisticated, aristocratic
patrons. As a reflection of a supremely
cultivated society, it was briefly
supreme.

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 3. THE ROCOCO
1921 - FRENCH - OILS

In Rococo, light colors and deft brushwork

predominate, with a premium on highly
finished, shimmering surfaces in which the
depiction of gorgeous fabrics, melting skin
tones, and luxuriant landscape backgrounds-
often overgrown, never threatening -are
relished for its own sake. In the hands of its
most outstanding exponents-the French
painters Boucher and Fragonard, and the
Italian Tiepolo-the result is a captivating,
idealized world, elegant and seemingly
effortless.

The Last Judgement (ceiling fresco) Johann Baptist Zimmermann, c. 1746-54, fresco and stucco,
Wies (Germany): Wieskirche. German artists fused architecture and painting to create tight-filled
interiors, which soar into visions of heaven.
 3. THE ROCOCO
1921 - FRENCH - OILS

Rococo painting concentrated on

aristocratic dalliance, small scale
and highly wrought. Antiquity
became a matter of scantily clad
shepherdesses, bosoms daintily
exposed, ravished by muscular
young giants. The Rococo rarely
lent itself to· religious subjects,
but Tiepolo successfully linked the
Bacchus and Erigone, Franrois Boucher, 1745, 39 x 53 in 99 x 134.5 two.
cm/, oil on canvas, London: a/lace Collection. For Boucher lassical
myths made most sense hen transformed into scenes of avished
innocents. Seduction, here ided by the [fatall promise of wine, sa
recurring theme.
3. THE ROCOCO
1921 - FRENCH - OILS
What to look for
Boucher's works epitomized the gorgeous
colors, highly finished surfaces, and
technical sophistication of the Rococo. It
was an art that was self-consciously
pleasing, reflecting the privileged
aristocratic world that brought it into being.
As early as the mid-18th century, however,
Rococo was being criticized for these
apparent frivolities: by the French
Revolution in 1789, what was left of
Rococo sentiment had been obliterated. Yet TECHNIQUES Darkened leaves are lit so that they appear
at its best, Rococo encapsulated much iridescent at the edges from the light of the shaded sun.
more than aristocratic frippery. Similar light play seductively on the girls' exposed
breasts.
3. THE ROCOCO
1921 - FRENCH - OILS

"Education de l'Amour" (modeled by

Etienne Falconet after Boucher), c. 1763, 12 in
(30.5 cm/, porcelain. The subject matter, self-
evidently sexual, is as typical as the handling:
eroticism meets highly finished treatment.
Franc;ois Boucher - 1703-70 - FRENCH - OILS
Boucher was a key artist of the
sumptuous, overindulgent ancien
regime of Louis XV. He epitomizes
the full-blown Rococo style.
He created lavish images of, and for, a
world of self-indulgent luxury-the
mid-18th century French royal court.
He was most magnificent with his
depictions of classical gods. He
designed for royal tapestry works and
porcelain factories and became King's Jupiter in the Guise of Diana, and the Nymph
Painter in 1765. Callisto by Francois Boucher (1703-1770),
oil on canvas, 1759
 Franc;ois Boucher
- 1703-70 - FRENCH -
OILS
Notice the acres of soft, pink flesh set
among frothy and false vegetation; lavish
silks, satins, and lace in the portraits-all
painted with great technical skill and
caressing sensuality; a brilliant marriage
between his patrons· needs (the subject
matter) and style and technique-one of the
hallmarks of great painting

The Toilette of Venus by Francois Boucher

(1703-1770), oil on canvas, 1751​
Franc;ois Boucher
- 1703-70 - FRENCH - OILS

+Francois Boucher's Portrait of Marquise de

Pompadour (1756)
 Jean-Baptiste Greuze - 1725-1805 - FRENCH - OILS

Le Geste Napolitain Jean-Baptiste Greuze, 1757, 28 ¼ X 37 in

(73 x 94.3 cm/, oil on canvas, Massachusetts: Worcester Art Museum. Greuze·s anecdotal scenes were popular with a novel-reading public. He played up
to them by selling engravings of his works and elaborating on their themes through notes in exhibition catalogs.
Jean-Honore Fragonard - 1732-1806 - FRENCH -
OILS; CHALKS

+ Fragonard was precocious and

successful-he was much favored by
the ancien regime for his easy-to-
enjoy, virtuoso, and titillating
private paintings.
+ He liked pink cheeks and heaving
bosoms, sidelong glances,
passionate embraces, and futile
resistance. Even his drapery,
landscape backgrounds, foliage,
and cloudsThefroth with equal erotic
Swing {Les hasards heureux de l'escarpolette/ Jean-Honore
intensity. Fragonard, 1767, 32 x 25 ½ in (81 x 65 cm/, oil on canvas,
London: Wallace Collection. The trees were inspired by the Tivoli
Gardens in Rome.
 Jean-Honore
Fragonard - 1732-1806 -
FRENCH - OILS; CHALKS

+ His exciting, nervous, but confident style suits his

subjects; his seductive pink-and-green palette and soft,
dappled light prefigure Renoir. He painted hands with
long, sensuous fingers.
+ Note the lap dogs and fleshy statues ready to join the
fun. Look for occasional early works in a "correct"
official style-which he soon rejected.

The Progress of Love: Love Letters, Jean-Honoré

Fragonard, 1771–72. Oil on canvas
Giovanni Battista Pittoni
- 1687-1767 - ITALIAN - OILS

The Delivery of the Keys to St. Peter Giovanni

Battista Pittoni, c. 1710-67, 32 ½ x 16 ½ in (82 x
42 cm). oil on canvas. Paris: Mu see du Louvre.
Christ entrusts the keys of heaven to the disciple.
Peter, watched by cherubs
 Rosalba Giovanna
Carriera
- 1675-1758 - ITALIAN - PASTELS

Caterina Sagredo Barbarigo as "Bernice" Rosalba Giovanna Carriera, c.

1741, 17 ½ x 12½ in (44.5 x 31.8 cm/, pastel on paper mounted on
canvas, Detroit Institute of Arts. One of the last works that the artist
produced-in 1745, she went blind.
 Giambattista Tiepolo - 1696-1770 - ITALIAN - OILS;
FRESCOES
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo was most celebrated fresco
painter of the 18th century.
His great works in situ (Venice, the Veneta, Madrid,
Wurzburgl are a miraculous combination of fresco
and architecture on a vast scale.
He had a confident technique and used luminous
colors.
He loved rich textures and theatrical gestures, but
always avoided cliche and frivolity.

Apollo Bringing the Bride 1750-51, 22½ x 46 ¼ ft /6. 97 x 14.07ml, ceiling fresco, Wiirzburg
Palace: Imperial Hall. In this fresco, Germany, where Apollo is bringing the medieval Princess
Beatrice to her marriage, is transmuted into a vision of 16th-century Venice.
 Giovanni Paolo Panini - c.1691-1765 - ITALIAN - OILS

Ruins with Figures Giovanni Paolo Panini, 1738, 96 ¾ X 70 '/sin /38. 1 x 27. 9 cm/, oil on canvas, Wilton [UK/: Wilton House. Pa
trained in architectural drawing.
Francesco Zuccarelli - 1702 - ITALIAN -
OILS
A Florentine painter of Venetian-
style high quality, Zuccarelli
produced sugary, softly colored,
easily painted pastoral landscapes
and cityscapes. He was much
admired by collectors of his day.

An Italianate River Landscape Francesco Zuccarelli, 41 ½ x 35 ½ in (105.3 x 89.8 cm/, oil

on canvas, London: Christie :S Images. Zuccarelli's work was usually made to become
part of a decorative room setting.
 William Hogarth
- 1697-1764 - BRITISH - OILS; ENGRAVINGS
Considered the "father of English painting".
Hogarth is best known for his portraits
(individual and group), and modern, moral
subjects-slices of contemporary life. He was
a very fine handler of paint, producing
confident drawing and color-rich textures.
He painted attractive, open faces in portraits
and was especially good at representing
children.

Self-Portrait William Hogarth, engraving, private collection.

Hogarth helped to establish the first permanent public display
of English art at the Foundling Hospital in central London.
 Marriage a ta Mode: VI, The Lady's Death William Hogarth, C. 1743, 27 ½ X 35 ¾ in (70 x 91 cm/, oil on
canvas, London: National Gallery. The final grimly comic scene in a story of a disastrous fashionable marriage.
 Thomas
Gainsborough -
1727-88 - BRITISH -
OILS

Mr and Mrs Andrews Thomas Gainsborough, C. 1749, 28 X 47 in (71 X 120 cm}, oil on canvas, London: National
Gallery. The newly married couple sit in their estate, the topography of which is precisely recorded.
2. The English From as early as 1750, a distinctive tradition of landscape painting
was emerging in England, partly a reflection of 18th-
Landscape Tradition century English landscape vardening-the subtle re-ordering of
nature for aristocratic patrons in imitation of the classical

18TH CENTURY landscapes of 17th-century painters like Claude Lorrain. In

the hands of a series of exceptional painters, it developed into
a rich celebration of a distinctively English approach to nature.
 Richard Wilson - c. 1713-82 JU BRITISH 16 OILS

The first major British landscape

painter, Wilson produced lovely,
direct topographical views and
sketches, which were influenced by
Dutch masters. He is especially
known for successful set-piece
works that are a synthesis of
idealized classical formulae and
actual places. His work shows great
sensitivity to light, notably during
and after his visit to Italy 1750-57. The Destruction of Niobe's Children Richard Wilson, c.
1760, oil on canvas, private collection. Wilson transformed
the Welsh countryside into visions of classical Arcadia.
 WILLIAM MARLOW
– 1740-1813 - BRITISH- WATERCOLORS; OILS; DRAWINGS

Marlow was a successful,

topographical painter in
watercolor and oils. He created
satisfying, balanced compositions
and was able to capture the cool
light and well-ordered topography
of England, as well as the intense
light and more dramatic
topography of Italy.
The Pont du Gard, Nimes William Marlow, c. 1767, 15 x 22 in (38 x
56 cm/, oil on canvas, London: Charles Young Fine Paintings.
Marlow traveled in France and Italy in 1765-66, painting Grand Tour
souvenir views.
 Jacques Philippe de Loutherbourg
- 1740-1812 - FRENCH/BRITISH - OILS; DRAWINGS

Loutherbourg was a painter and

stage designer from Strasbourg. He
produced stagey landscapes and
seascapes. He was important as a
link between the old Arcadian
classical landscape traditions and
the new realism and Romanticism
of Turner and Constable. He also
painted battle scenes and biblical
subjects in an energetic style. He
was one of the first to celebrate the
delights of English scenery. Richattle Between Richard I Lionheart (1157-99} and Saladin (1137-
93} in Palestine Jacques Philippe de Loutherbourg, c. 1790, oil
on canvas, Leicester: New Walk Museum.
 Thomas Rowlandson - 1756-1827 - BRITISH - DRAWINGS; PRINTS

A French Coffee House

Thomas
Rowlandson, 1790s, 9 x
12½ in (23 x 33 cm/, pen
and
ink with Watercolor on p
aper, Cambridge.-
Fitzwilliam Museum.
Revolutionary France
was a popular subject
for British caricaturists.

A prolific draftsman and printmaker, Rowlandson was a chronicler of 18th-century life and morals. He had
huge technical facility, enthusiasm for life, and an eye for detail and character, which he expressed with an
admirable economy of line. Rowlandson walked the tightrope between observation and caricature with skill.
 Henry Fuseli - 1741-1825 - SWISS/BRITISH -
OILS; DRAWINGS

A Swiss-born eccentric, Fuseli was also

known as Johann Heinrich FusEli. Inspired
by Michelangelo, Shakespeare, and
Milton, he made highly dramatic
interpretations of literature with intense
facial expressions and overdeveloped
body language.
Fuseli also had a special line in female
cruelty and bandaged males. He was
The Nightmare HenryFuseli, 1781, 39¾ x 50 in obsessed with women’s hair.
{101 x 127 cm/, oil on canvas, Michigan: Detroit
Institute of Arts. The woman represents Fuseli's
lost love, Anna Landolt.
 Neoclassicism was a deliberate reaction against the decorative priorities of

3. Neoclassicism the Rococo. It was a self-conscious return to what were thought of as the
absolute, severe standards of the ancient world. On the whole, it generated

1770-1830
huge, dull paintings of "improving" history subjects, but its most brilliant
exponent, the painter David, radically fused contemporary political
concerns with a new artistic language.

This Photo by Unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA.

Neoclassicism - 1770-1830
+ The German theorist and art historian, Johann
Winckelmann, decisively influenced
Neoclassicism, by persuasively advocating the
"noble simplicity and calm grandeur" of
ancient art, especially Greek. Typically,
Neoclassical works are measured, grave, and
self-consciously noble. Color schemes are
often sombre, though with brilliant highlights,
and paint is applied with smoothly precise
consistency. Light falls evenly, draperies are
simple and chaste, poses invariably sternly
heroic.
Paolina Bonaparte Borghese as Venus Antonio Canova. 1808,
marble, Rome: Galleria Borghese. Canova, who settled in Rome after
1779, was the most influential Neoclassical sculptor. He brought
an exceptionally finished technique to the ideals of Greek purity.
3. Neoclassicism - 1770-1830
What to look for
+ The Oath of the Horatii is a landmark
painting of Neoclassical art, a deliberate
celebration of the art, life, and stern moral
values of Republican Rome.
Authoritative, heroic, and impeccably
composed, it is a statement of moral and
political ideals. Three brothers (the
Horatii) swear allegiance to the Roman
Republic, but are also bound by ties of
love to an enemy family, the Curiatii.
Oath of the Horatii, is a large painting by the French
They choose loyalty to the state over artist Jacques-Louis David painted in 1784 and now
personal emotion. on display in the Louvre in Paris
Jacques-Louis David
- 1748-1825 - FRENCH - OILS; DRAWINGS; CHALKS

+ David was the founder of French

Neoclassical painting, but was an arts
administrator and a creative genius. He
applied the precision of a painter of
miniatures on a massive scale. He had
stern moral and artistic rules.The body
language and facial expressions of his
characters were used as drama. There
was no place for ambiguity.
+ Observe his attention to detail,
especially in hands, feet, tassels, armor,
and stones. His flesh is as smooth
NapoleonasCrossing the Alps on 20th May 1800 Jacques-Louis David, 1803,
porcelain, with never a hair in sight.
105 x 87 'Is in (267 x 223 cm/, oil on canvas, Chateau de Versailles. Four
separate versions exist, differing only in the coloring of the cape.
 Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun
- 1755-1842- FRENCH - OILS

Portrait of a Young Woman Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, c.1797, 32 ½ x

27 ¾ in {82.2 x 70.5 cm], oil on canvas, Boston: Museum of Fine
Arts. The artist organized famous parties at which guests wore Greek
costume.
Antonio Canova
- 1757-1822 fll ITALIAN lb SCULPTURE
+ Canova was the leading Neoclassical sculptor and
certainly the most celebrated artist. He was widely
credited with reviving the "lost art" of sculpture. He
combined astonishingly accomplished technique with a
rare talent for the human figure, females especially, in a
variety of winningly graceful poses.
+ Many group sculptures can only be appreciated in the
round, i.e. from different viewpoints, so they are no
longer dependent on architectural settings.

Cupid and Psyche Antonio Canova, 1796-97, height

59 in {150 cm], marble, Paris: Musee du
Louvre. Canova was fascinated by hands and fingers.
 Benjamin West
- 1738-1820- AMERICAN - OILS

The Death of General Wolfe Benjamin West, 1770, 60x84 ½in

(152.6 x 214.5 cm/. oil on canvas, National Gallery of Canada. An episode from the conquest of Quebec, 1759. Wolfe died at the moment of
victory.