This paper examines two dominant artistic and architectural movements of eighteenth-century Europe: Rococo and Neoclassicism. It traces the defining characteristics of each style — Rococo's fluid lines, asymmetry, and ornate decoration versus Neoclassicism's rigid geometry and revival of ancient Greek and Roman forms — and explores how both movements expressed themselves in architecture, painting, and sculpture. Key works discussed include François Boucher's Marie-Louise O'Murphy and Jacques-Louis David's Oath of the Horatii. Despite their apparent opposition, the paper argues that both styles share a common ancestry in the art of antiquity.
Two styles became very popular in Europe during the 1700s. The first, the Rococo style, was characterized by fluidity, asymmetry, and the extremely ornate. This style came to dominate France during the period and spread across Europe and into Russia. Rococo has come to mean "busy" in the modern vernacular, which can seem like a criticism, but at the time this was precisely what fashionable people wanted. Homes were decked out with intricately scrolled metalworks, porcelain figures, frills and laces, and exquisitely designed furniture.
The second style was the Neoclassical. This was inspired by the ancient art and architecture of Western culture — particularly that of the Greeks and Romans. Whereas many people of the period thought of Neoclassicism as the anti-Rococo, both movements actually drew inspiration from ancient styles and share a common artistic ancestry.
Examples of Rococo-style architecture include the Queluz National Palace in Portugal, one of the last Rococo buildings to be constructed in Europe. Like everything else associated with the style, these structures were asymmetric — curving, heavily furnished, and stylistically colored. Simply put, they were beautiful. Neoclassical buildings included the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, both reflecting the clean lines and geometric order drawn from Greco-Roman precedents.
By the 1730s, Rococo had gone beyond architecture and furniture and permeated art and sculpture as well. Noel Riley (1989) discusses how famous artists Antoine Watteau and François Boucher embraced this aesthetic in their work. These paintings often featured pastoral scenes with full-bodied men and women enjoying life. There were few straight lines; instead, everything was fluid and in motion.
To this end, many of the paintings convey a certain impishness or impropriety in the actions of their subjects — a reaction to the complete break from the Baroque and church-inspired lifestyle of the previous era. One such work, François Boucher's Marie-Louise O'Murphy (1752), depicts a woman completely unclothed, lying on her stomach on a chaise lounge. It is an intimate painting. The blonde woman is awake but disheveled; there is a flower on the ground and the bedding is rumpled. Those viewing the painting are clearly meant to feel as though they have walked in on a moment that no one but the woman's husband should have witnessed — not only because she is nude, but because she is vulnerable.
"David and Greek-Roman mythology in Neoclassical art"
It would at first appear that these two styles are directly opposite one another. One deals with fluid lines and S-shapes; the other deals with rigid lines and angles. However, when viewed side by side, they are still evidently the descendants of the ancients. This shared foundation in Western artistic tradition unites them in their historical inspiration and shows how one idea can be interpreted in remarkably different ways.
You’re 78% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 1 section.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.