1. Rococo Art
Mainly associated with France in the early 18th century, during the reign of Louis XV. Originally the term was derogatory, since everyone is an art critic. The term refers to the curlicues, excessive decoration, and ornamentation.

2. Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721)
Works depicted fetes galantes, scenes of dreamy amusement and indolence. (Mainly it’s a bunch of picnics and costume parties.) Known as a colorist, he left it for the viewer’s eye to blend colors, rather than the painter doing it.

3. The Return from Cythera (1717) uses mythological themes and may be an allegory on the approach of death.

4. Gilles (1718)
Watteau’s portrait of
an actor-comedian from
the Italian Commedia.

5. Francois Boucher ( )
He did a lot more than paint: designed interiors, stage sets for opera, even slippers. Known for his tapestries and engravings. He was court painter to Louis XV. Most of his paintings are portraits of the aristocracy and pastorals. Incredibly active as an artist.

6. The Marquise de Pompadour
(1756)

7. Diana’s Return from the Hunt (1745)

8. The Interrupted
Sleep (1750)

9. La Toillette (1742)

10. Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806)
Known for his works on flirtation and courtship. Pupil of Boucher, using a lot of the same qualities. Sponsored by two of Louis XV’s mistresses, Madame de Pompadour and Madame du Barry, he was spared the guillotine during the French Revolution by David.

11. Fragonard’s masterpiece
The Swing (1766)
Fragonard’s masterpiece

12. Portrait of Denis Diderot
(1769)
It’s blurry because of the
website I took it from.

13. The Bolt (Le Verrou) c. 1778

14. Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin (1699-1779)
Isn’t really a Rococo painter, but he lived during that period, so he gets lumped in with the other guys. Painted naturalistic still lifes and pictures of scenes of everyday life for the middle class.

15. A “Lean Diet” with Cooking Utensils (1731)

16. Etienne-Maurice Falconet (1716-91)
Sculptor of the Rococo period, but he’s not a “Rococo sculptor”. His most famous work is the “Bronze Horseman”, a huge statue of Peter the Great in St. Petersburg. Commissioned by Catherine the Great, it was completed in The inscription on the base is “Petro Primo Catharina Secunda”.

19. The not-so-rococo artists, but they’re called that because they lived during the time period.

20. William Hogarth ( )
Hogarth was an English caricaturist of the mid-18th century. He depicted scenes of life in London and satires of the customs of the English aristocracy. He usually did a series of works and illustrations on the same subjects, two examples of which are The Rake’s Progress and Marriage a la Mode, which shows what happens to a rich merchant’s daughter and a young lord marry.

21. The Rake in Bedlam (1735) from The Rake’s Progress

22. One of the scenes of life in London. Way too many people drinking,
Gin Lane
One of the scenes of life
in London. Way too
many people drinking,
which was a social
problem in the city in the
18th century.

23. John Wilkes, Esq. (1763)
Wilkes was a political protester in
England.

24. Plate one from Marriage a la Mode - the Signing of the Marriage Contract

25. Thomas Gainsborough (1727-88)
Another English painter, who did lots of portraits, mainly of the aristocracy.

26. Blue Boy (c. 1770)
Probably one of the most
famous portraits ever painted,
you can see him at the
Huntington Library in San
Marino.

27. Neoclassicism
Serious and moral commitment are paramount in neoclassicism, discarding the frivolousness of the Rococo period. Artists of the period believed that art should spread knowledge and enlightenment. Also attempted (once again) to resurrect the ancient Greeks and Romans, hence some of the subject matter. Also connected with the French Revolution. Main proponent was Winckelmann, an art historian of the mid-18th century.

28. Jacques Louis David (1748-1825)
We already are familiar with some of David’s works from looking at the French Revolution. Early works use Greek and Roman subjects, focusing on their civic ideals. The second phase of his career dealt with the Revolution, where he was commissioned to paint Marat’s assassination. In the final phase, he was a “brownnose” to Napoleon, doing a series of paintings glorifying the French emperor.

29. The Oath of the Horatii (1785)

30. The Death of Socrates (1787) - this inspired a new wave
of interest in the Pompeiian style - everyone wanted the
stuff in their house.

31. The Death of Marat (1793)

32. Napoleon Crowning the Empress Josephine (1806-07) - obviously
from the “brownnose” period.

33. A detail from Napoleon Crown-
ing the Empress Josephine

34. David’s portrait of Napoleon at
the height of the Emperor’ power.
(1812) Following Napoleon’s exile
in 1815, David himself was sent
into exile in Brussels.

35. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867)
A student of David, he became the most celebrated artist of his time. His works are based on mythology and history, in addition to a lot of portraits. Considered to be artistically conservative, he was the antithesis to the Romantic period which dominated during the time he worked. One of his favorite subjects was bathers, as you will see.

36. Napoleon on his Imperial
Throne (1806)

37. The Countesse de
Haussonville (1845)

38. The Princesse de Broglie
(1853)

39. The Bather of Valpincon
(1808)

40. Le Grand Odalisque (1814)