Debating Rococo's Role in the French Revolution - Essay Example

How Rococo Art Influenced the French Revolution I. Introduction Rococo art came at the end of the Baroque period. Whereas Baroque art was very elegant and ethereal, Rococo art focused on sensuality and the livelihood of parties occurring in utopian conditions. Pastel colors and light and airy scenery characterized Rococo art. With regard to the French Revolution, Rococo art was the motivation, the precursor, and the decoration that characterized French society in the early 18th Century. II. Rococo Art: Motivation for a Revolution Rococo art was definitely one motivation for the French Revolution.

The lower classes were tired of the bourgeoisie taking advantage of them by taxing them mercilessly while people were struggling to survive in brutally horrible socioeconomic conditions. “But the poor, who paid for the…[wealthy aristocrats’ party] (because they were the only taxed segment of French society), the whole period had a let-them-eat-cake feel and helped ignite the French Revolution of 1789. The celebration started [with the death of King Louis XIV, when] French aristocrats felt liberated.

”1 In fact, after Marie Antoinette said, “Let them eat cake,” that phrase was coined to mean that one had insensitivity to the plight of the less fortunate, and especially with regard to being poor. It was thought that the French aristocracy had no idea how much their own constituents were suffering in abject poverty while they attended lavish parties and lounged in luxury. III. The Precursor to the Revolution Many French did not take kindly to the notion that the people and scenes being depicted in Rococo art was indeed true-to-life.

They were angry that they were languishing in poverty while their aristocrat counterparts luxuriated in posh surroundings. The French had basically become disenchanted with the fact that their leaders were taking advantage of their wealthy status in order to promote themselves and their agendas, while many pressing matters important to the underprivileged were left unattended. For example, there was a severe food shortage which led up to the French Revolution—and Rococo art was summarily despised by the lower classes, who saw this type of art as an accurate depiction of the drunkeness, slovenliness, and debauchery that was going on behind closed doors within the French aristocracy. IV. The Decoration Characterizing French Society in the Early 18th Century The kind of artistic decoration that characterized Rococo art included Jean Antoine Watteau—famous for his fetes galantes, or lavish party scenes—and Francois Boucher, whose paintings tend to emphasize ‘mounds of pink flesh.

’2 Source: Watteau 2011: 1. The painting above exemplifies the idea behind the fete galante, that the lavish parties of the French aristocracy were captured in such paintings. Also, another famous painting which follows—this one by Francois Boucher—is one of Madame de Pompadour, who was a marquise as well as being the courtesan of King Louis XV from 1745 until her demise in 1764. Source: Boucher 2011: 1. Rococo was not merely decoration, however; it defined an era. “Twenty-two years after Fragonard painted The Swing, the French Revolution unleashed the pent-up resentment of the underclasses.

By that time, sensual Rococo paintings had fallen out of favor and Fragonard was living in poverty.”3 People depicted in these paintings like that of The Swing evoke the luxurious, pampered lifestyles of the rich and famous in early 18th-century France. Source: Wilder 2007: 223. V. Conclusion The period in which Rococo art flourished influenced many paths to take shape. Not only did Rococo art serve as motivation for the French Revolution, but it also was the precursor to the Revolution—not to mention a type of decoration which characterized early 18th-century French society.

Truly, Rococo art was not merely an art form but an artistic revolution. WORKS CITED Boucher, Francois. Painting via Google Images, 2011. Available: . Cunningham, Lawrence S., et al. Culture and Values, Vol. II: A Survey of the Humanities with Readings. U.S.: Cengage Learning, 2009. Pp. 399. Watteau, Jean Antoine. Painting via Google Images, 2011. Available: . Wilder, Jesse Bryant. Art History for Dummies. U.S.: For Dummies, 2007. Pp. 219, 223.