Spirit of the Rococo Style

The term "Rococo" refers to a style which is asymmetrical and makes extensive use of "sinuous S- and C-shaped curves."1 Rococo developed out of the earlier Baroque style, which also made use of curved shapes but was more symmetrical and far less elaborate than Rococo. Rococo works are highly ornamental and are typically embellished with fanciful shapes. The word "rococo" derives from rocaille, which "was originally used to refer to the tortuous rockwork fabricated for artificial caves or grottoes."2 Motifs such as shells, spirals, leaves, branches and flowers are commonly found in Rococo pieces. As such, although .Rococo uses fantastic forms, such works have an organic quality about them, and are often reflective of nature, albeit in a stylized manner. The term "Rococo" was meant to be derogatory when it first came into use, and it implied a certain gaudiness and superficiality of detail. However, this connotation is overly restrictive and fails to account for the exquisite beauty and high aesthetic value of most Rococo works.

The Rococo style reached its zenith in 18th century France, but it actually took its inspiration from Italian art of the late Baroque period. The French artist Juste-Aurele Meissonier (16951750) is credited as having been the "inventor" of Rococo.

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to a "perpetual spirit of rivalry between architects, sculptors, designers and ornamental engravers, all of whom were continually devising new and original means to attract the patronage of the Court, the nobility and the wealthier members of the middle classes."11 Because of this, the Rococo style found its greatest expressiveness in the creation of decorative objects and unique furnishings, as opposed to the fine arts. The craftsman of the time, who were artists in their own right, were inundated with requests for increasingly creative and novel works, which caused the Rococo style to become most fully developed in the decorative arts. For example, "the cabinetmakers had full scope for fantasy; they responded to the taste of their customers by inventing all kinds of new forms adapted to this or that requirement of living, especially pieces of furniture used by women."12 The patronage of wealthy women had a great influence on the development of the style. The women of the time encouraged decorators to become increasingly fanciful and innovative in their designs, and furthermore, they demanded that furniture be more comfortable than it had ever been in the past. The desire for greater comfort led to the development of "sm
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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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