Rococo Beyond Borders: From Style to Object
Today, the term rococo denotes a distinctive
visual style that developed in France in the
1730s and quickly appealed to patrons,
makers, and designers worldwide. Initially
known as the “painterly mode” or simply “the
modern taste,” this style is usually
associated with exuberant, asymmetrical
forms marked by curving, attenuated lines; a
playful tension between solids and voids; an
ornamental vocabulary of leaves, shells,
flowers, and other natural forms; and a color
palette dominated by pastel hues. How and
where did this new, modern mode arise, who
promoted it, and how did it spread? How did
artists, artisans, architects, and designers
across the globe develop the style’s inherent
qualities while harnessing its seemingly
boundless potential for novelty? Why was the
style subsequently rejected—and, later,
recuperated and revived—and how did it
acquire political or even moral values as well
as visual ones? This seminar investigates the
rococo’s impact on interior design,
household objects, textiles and dress, and
gardening as well as sculpture, painting, and
architecture. We will discuss what “rococo”
signifies in recent scholarship and explore its
perceived connections with cultural
phenomena including elegant gatherings,
pastoral romance, female-dominated
salons, expanding commercial markets, and
European consumers’ taste for eroticism and
exoticism. While centered in Western
Europe—including France, Germany, Italy,
England, the Netherlands, and
Scandinavia—our study takes a global and
cross-cultural perspective, tracing how the
movement of objects and people carried
versions of the style to the New World, the
Ottoman Empire, and China, where European
modes were transformed and integrated into
local projects. We will conclude by
considering the rococo’s continuing
resonance for contemporary artists and
designers across media. 3 credits. Satisfies
the chronological requirement.