Research paper

French Revolution

Art as National Propaganda in the French Revolution, and Its influence for contemporary

art

Topic

• French revolution is not only political revolution, but also is the art revolution

Rococo Neoclassicism

François Boucher Jacques Louis David

What is Rococo? How to identify Rococo art?

1720 – 1760

Characteristics of Rococo

1. Light-hearted depiction of domestic life in the upper class home

The Lesson of Love by Jean-Antoine Watteau

2. Elegantly dressed aristocrats at play, usually in pastoral landscapes

The Stolen Kiss by Jean-Honore Fragonard)

3. Look for courting, beauty, romance, fun, playfulness and sexual symbols

The Stolen Kiss by Jean-Honore Fragonard

4. Pastel colour, soft and light shades, are characteristic of the period

A Lady in a Garden taking Coffee with some Children by Nicolas Lancret

• During an era where France was the epitome of flamboyance, and when everything was elaborate from furniture to hairstyles, those paintings captured the ideal embodiment of the Rococo spirit where the upper classes were preoccupied with their own amusement while the common folk lived in misery and the nation kept on losing territories in places like Europe and North America. The Rococo movement illustrates all of the problems in France as they edged closer towards revolution. That art style never came back to life and the artists who were well-known Rococo painters couldn’t make it in post- Revolutionary France, since Rococo was forever a symbol of decadence. The everlasting distaste for that art style never faded. You can imagine the peasants in the violent riots during the French Revolution ransacking castles and châteaux, destroying everything in their paths including the Rococo furniture and paintings.

https://www.identifythisart.com/art-movements-styles/pre-modern- art/rococo-art-movement/

What is neo-classicism? How to identify neo- classicism art?

1760 – 1830

Characteristics of Rococo

1. Classical subject matter: People in static calm poses, draped in flowing Greek robes, Roman togas and sandals

Virgil Reading the Aeneid to Augustus, Octavia, and Livia by Jean-Auguste- Dominique Ingres

2. Simple geometric shapes and blocks of colors

The Death of Socrates by Jacques-Louis David

Influenced by Rococo Style

Influenced by Neoclassism Style