History of World Art II: Day 55

In France after the death of Louis XIV in 1715 the upper echelon of society abandoned the palace courts for the pleasures of town. With a renewed economic power of aristocratic society during the 18th century they became the patrons of art. A new feminine presence became a predominant force in elegant homes and a new kind of court was born in sitting rooms and salons. Rococo style had a feminine look which came from the demand of the new feminine social elite that dominated the age. Madame de Pompadour (1721-1764) the mistress of Louis XV of France, Maria Theresa (1717-1780) archduchess of Austria and queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Empresses Elizabeth (r. 1741-1762) and Catherine the Great (r. 1762-1796) of Russia held the most influential positions in Europe. Female tastes also dictated many smaller courts and private homes which were influenced by the styles made popular by the great women of their time. The women who hosted these salons called themselves femmes savantes or learned women.

François Boucher
otrait of the Marquise de Pompadour, 1756

Salon de la Princesse in the Hotel de Soubise in Paris and Hall of Mirrors in the Amalienburg, Nymphenburg Palace park in Munich Germany were designed by architects influenced in great part by Borromini and his undulating style. These salons held beautiful paintings, sculptures and guilded moldings and fixtures befitting of the grand audiences they held. Rococo had a filigreed style and ornate gold guilded surfaces abounded to fill the rooms with oppulence. The spaces flow together, swarming with visual interest and life. It's easy to imagine how they would look lit up by candlelight and filled with festive company.

Germin Boffrand. Salon de la Princesse, Hotel de Soubise.
Begun 1732

Francois de Cuvillies. Munich Amalienburg, Hall of Mirrors

The art was as opulent as the interiors that held them and sensuous scenes of secular and aristocratic life prevail. Jean-Honoré Fragonard used soft lighting and lush outdoor settings to complement his scenes as seen in his painting The Swing in which the viewer get a glimpse into a private scene of a beautiful young socialite kicks of her show as she swings high into the sunlight in a lush wooded glade. Her lover watches enraptured below a statue of cupid. The pastel colors and softness of the composition hold great feminine appeal.