This video explores the Rococo Art Movement during the 18th Century. Rococo Art reacts to the Baroque with a lighter and more playful aesthetic. It celebrated love, pleasure, charm, whimsy and everyday life. Rococo Art emerged during the time of the Enlightenment. Rococo art escaped from the weight of tradition offering a lighter, more carefree version of life. Rococo Art was aristocratic in nature, traveling from the Salons of France to the Palaces of Vienna. It created a world of refined elegance and playful sophistication that was enchanting and captivating. The video explores the paintings of Chardin, Watteau, Tiepolo, Gainsborough, Fragonard, Vigee Le Brun, Carriera, and Boucher.
Baroque art was characterized by dramatic lighting, dramatic emotions, earth tones, and power. Artists desired something lighter. Rococo reacted against the seriousness and intensity of the Baroque. Rococo depicted the every day lives of the aristocracy, fetes galantes, and mythological scenes. Paintings depicted couples and romantic love. There is an element of fantasy. The color palette of Rococo art is mostly soft pastels. It gave the paintings a sense of airiness, light, calm, peace, luxury, and leisure. The color made scenes appear dreamlike and portray ethereal beauty. It rejected the somber tones and dramatic lighting of the baroque. It emphasized delicacy and refinement. Some critics called the style frivolous.