Baroque Art Period (1600-1750)
The term Baroque originates from the Spanish word of baroco, which means one big pearl of irregular shape. It defines the art period from 1600 to 1750. This period was turbulent in Europe since the religious conflicts between the Protestant and Catholic Church’s Reformations were at their peak; the Catholic Church, for years prominent within the spiritual European population, now had to restructure their customs due to the intense criticism expressed by Martin Luther. This religious conflict was not bloodless; the Peasant’s revolution in Germany and the Thirty Year War are indicative of the disastrous results of time. It was during this sanguinary and disorderly period, when the Baroque style was initiated as a means of contradicting conflicts and creating stunning religious scenes devoted to the public’s true spiritual feelings (Gombrich, 1995; TimeRime, 2010).
The Baroque style’s aim in sculpture, painting, and architecture is the depiction of emotion, diversity, and movement of forms, which were particularly facing upwards. In other words it highlights qualities alluring to the public’s senses. Moreover, Baroque is characterised by vigour, anxiety, dramatic shades, dynamic perspective effects, striking employment and contrast between light and shadow, flaccid touches, heavy impasto, opulence, excitement, splendour, and dense and meticulous compositions (Gombrich, 1995; History of Art: Study Guide, 2013; World Wide Arts Resources Corporation, 2013).
Rococo Art Period (1710-1760s)
The term Rococo refers to the style that succeeded the Baroque art period and was developed in the early 18th century, mainly in France. As an artistic movement it was manifested primarily in painting, decoration and architecture. It was short-lived and lasted only three to four decades. The end of Rococo was placed during the 1760s as the result of clashes between the bourgeoisie and the extravagant aristocracy (expressed by Rococo) and was gradually replaced by the dominant artistic trend of neoclassicism (Gombrich, 1995; A world history of art, 2013).
Rococo was developed during a period, known as "Age of Enlightenment", spanning between the late 17th to the 18th century. During this time during customs, tradition, and even religion were replaced by reasoning and scientific proof; the "Age of Enlightenment" contradicted superstitions, prejudice and fanaticism, while its intellectuals favoured reasoning against the Catholic Church (Bailey, 2012; Neuman, 2012).
Rococo is mainly a style of interior decoration on walls, ceilings, and furniture, which incorporates floral motifs, twigs, leaves, and flowers in clusters of C and S shapes. It is a style considered as light-hearted, cute, playful, cheerful, imaginative, and elegant; colours are very bright, crystal clear, without deep shadows. In painting there is a preference for topics of elegant figures walking, having fun, playing musical instruments in idyllic surroundings, forests, gardens, all in a casual atmosphere; movement is also an important element in paintings, which are in contrast to Baroque light-coloured (mainly pink, light blue and silver pastel colours), lighter and more flowing (History of Art: Study Guide, 2013; Arnason and Kalb, 2003).
Rococo does not provide works of monumental character and spiritual elation or of deep psychological penetration. On the contrary, it remains only on the surface of life, at the level of emotionalism and ephemeral, of temporary and occasional (History of Art: Study Guide, 2013; Arnason and Kalb, 2003).
Baroque and Rococo Similarities and Differences in a Stylistic and Social Context
As it becomes apparent by the above presentation, Rococo succeeded Baroque. It is a style by many scholars named Late Baroque, since it did in reality evolve based on the Baroque Art Period. Consequently, it has a lot of common characteristics with Baroque; however, both Art Periods are also distinguished by several differences (Bailey, 2012; Neuman, 2012).
More specifically, in terms of style, both art periods are expressed by a focus on decoration, and detailed moulding especially in respect to sculpture and architecture. Additionally, both Baroque and Rococo present more realistic portrayals and representations of both people and scenery. On the other hand, they are quite different in terms of the usage of colour, with Baroque primarily employing contrast between light and dark, and dramatic shades, whereas Rococo utilises bright colours, and not so intensified shadows. Baroque is heavier, emotional, and spiritual, while Rococo is lighter with no religious excitement or sole investigation purposes. Finally, Baroque is characterised by spirituality and more religious themes, while Rococo mostly features scenes of cheerful people during pleasurable expressions of everyday life, and erotic and intimacy scenes. Rococo scarcely depicts scenes of a religious context (Bailey, 2012; Neuman, 2012).
In terms of social context, Baroque is placed in period where Europe is facing turbulence due to the Catholic Church’s reaction to the Protestant Reformation, which spread across Europe constituting danger for the Catholics. On the contrary, Rococo is developed during a period, known as "Age of Enlightenment", a period when intellectuals tested the Catholic Church. Consequently, the difference in respect to the topics of Baroque and Rococo is only natural, should one consider the different social conditions under which they were developed (Bailey, 2012; Neuman, 2012).
Rococo’s Deviation from Baroque
Rococo appeared in France in response to the tedious decorations style of the palace of Versailles. It spread to the rest of Europe and mainly in Germany, Italy and Austria - during the following decades of its first appearance. Its establishment coincided with the reign of Louis XIV, and a more generalized reaction to the strict style of Baroque aesthetics. More specifically, via Rococo, Baroque gave way to lighter formations and refined lines. Unlike Baroque, Rococo is not designed to impress with grandeur and sense of infinity, and is rather "warmer" and more refined. Finally it moves apart from the restrictions of the Catholic Church (Bailey, 2012; Neuman, 2012).
Comparison of Two Paintings from the Rococo and Baroque Art Period
Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) is a very famous representative of the Rococo Art Period. One of his characteristic paintings is "Entertainment Countryside" (1719), which depicts a celebration in the country. This celebration is depicted so as to provide the viewer with a sense of a sweat and almost melancholic tranquillity. The young males and females are just sitting around, dreaming, playing with the flowers, or looking at each other. The light dances on the glow of exquisite clothing, transforming the forest into an earthly paradise. The quality of Watteau’s art, the lightness of his touch, and the delicacy of the colours’ harmonies are only apparent real life; one should notice in the original painting the extreme sensitivity and the exceptional shapes in order to appreciate its quality (Gombrich, 1995).
On the other hand, in Rubens’ (prominent Baroque painter (1577-1640)) painting "Allegory on the blessings of peace" (1629-1630) the details, the immense contradictions and warm colours provide the viewer with the notion that reality is compelling. The ideal forms of classical ideal beauty are useless, very remote and abstract. Thus, males and females are depicted as live creatures, similar to the humans he observed around him, to the people he liked (Gombrich, 1995).
Watteau, as Rubens, who he highly appreciated, could give the impression of vivid and pulsating flesh with a mere touch of pastel or paintbrush; the mood, though, of his sketching is far different from that of Rubens. Some kind of sorrow is evident in his visions of beauty though difficult to be determined. However, sorrow certainly places this painting and all his work beyond the space of mere craftsmanship and grace (Gombrich, 1995).
Rococo’s Legacy
Perhaps the most prominent influence of the Rococo Art Period is on the succeeding Art Nouveau movement. Art Nouveau is a movement mostly of decorative art, design, and architecture. It became the primary style in both the United States and Europe during a period spanning from the 1890s to the WWI. The basic characteristics of this movement are meticulous and perplexing linear designs and smooth curves influenced by natural shapes and forms. In terms of Rococo’s impact, Art Nouveau revived the intensely decorative and commonly delicate Rococo interiors, while used its style of elements, such as shell textures and flames in a more modernised and abstract manner (Boundless, 2013).
References
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Arnason, H. and Kalb, P. (2003). History of Modern Art. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
art.co.uk (2013). Diana after the Hunt, 1745 Giclee Print by Francois Boucher at Art.co.uk. [Online] Retrieved from: http://eu.art.com/products/p12263341-sa-i1637146/posters.htm [Accessed: 29 Oct 2013].
Bailey, G. (2012). Baroque and Rococo. London: Phaidon.
Boundless (2013). Art Noveau - Boundless Open Textbook. [online] Retrieved from: https://www.boundless.com/art-history/europe-and-america-in-the-1800s/rise-of-modernism/art-noveau/ [Accessed: 29 Oct 2013].
Gombrich, E. (1995). The Story of Art. 6th ed. London: Phaidon Press, Incorporated.
History of Art: Study Guide (2013). Baroque. [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~fellows/hart206/baroque.htm [Accessed: 29 Oct 2013].
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Neuman, R. (2012). Baroque and Rococo art and architecture. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson.
TimeRime (2010). The Catholic Reformation and the rise of the Baroque style timeline. [Online] Retrieved from: http://timerime.com/en/timeline/1564957/The+Catholic+Reformation+and+the+rise+of+the+Baroque+style/ [Accessed: 29 Oct 2013].
Wikipaintings.org (2013). artworks tagged "leisure-and-sleep" - WikiPaintings.org. [Online] Retrieved from: http://www.wikipaintings.org/nl/Tag/leisure-and-sleep/4#supersized-search-229420 [Accessed: 29 Oct 2013].
World Wide Arts Resources Corporation (2013). Art History: Baroque. [Online] Retrieved from: http://wwar.com/masters/movements/baroque.html [Accessed: 29 Oct 2013].
