Glencoe World History Modern Times © 2010

Rococo Art

Introduction
Rococo art was an important element of French culture during the Enlightenment. The style is highly suggestive of the attitudes and atmosphere in the royal court during the period leading up to the French Revolution. In this activity you will read about three rococo painters and how they experienced the shift from rococo to neoclassicism.

Destination Title: Ancien Regime Rococo

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Directions

• Click on the Web site and read the introductory information.
• Click on and read the brief biographies of the rococo artists François Boucher, Jean-Honore Fragonard, and Elizabeth Vigée-Lebrun.
• Take notes as you read.

Use the information you found to answer the following questions.

1			What was characteristic of rococo art? What was usually the subject matter?
2			Besides painting, what did Boucher do?
3			When did Boucher fall out of favor? Why?
4			Fragonard was the student of Boucher, and their styles are remarkably similar. What characteristics of Fragonard's paintings distinguish them from those of Boucher?
5			The art world is never completely isolated from the world of politics. Click on and read about Elizabeth Vigée-Lebrun. Explain how she responded to the politics of her times and how art historians treat her as a result of her actions. Then think of an example of art or literature that fell out of favor because of its statement about politics and society, or that was originally rejected but later gained respectability. Describe the example and explain how changing attitudes or conditions caused the change.