Western Art Gallery 84 Watteau

Author: DeAgostini Publishing Company
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-06-01
Features: The first half of the 18th century in France is often referred to as the Rococo era. Both the society and art of this period took on a sudden and eccentric style. With the significant rise in the influence of Parisian salons and women's salons, the excessively inflated self-consciousness under Louis XIV's rule, as well as the rigid and stiff etiquette, were rejected in favor of a light-hearted, unrestrained, joyful, and playful lifestyle. From the perspective of visual arts, it was natural for the solemn classical style and Baroque style to be replaced by the bright, elegant, and delightful Rococo style. Watteau was regarded as a great painter of the early Rococo period, and his successors were the two prominent painters, Boucher and Fragonard. Although Watteau's works carry a melancholic shadow that does not quite fit the Rococo style, all three artists' paintings reflect the spirit of the era.