V. Major Artistic Styles
- A. Rococo
- 1. Basic characteristics
- a. The Rococo style reached its peak of popularity during the reign of Louis XV (1715-1774).
- b. Artists depicted lighthearted and often frivolous scenes of nobles at play.
- c. Paintings featured light-colored pastels.
- d. Architecture featured highly decorated interior ceilings.
- 2. Leading artists and works
- a. Antoine Watteau, Pilgrimage to Cythera
- b. François Boucher, Cupid Captive
- c. Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing
- B. Neoclassical Art
- 1. Basic characteristics
- a. Neoclassical style supplanted Rococo during the 1780s.
- b. Key figures were depicted as classical heroes.
- c. Works portrayed the classical virtues of self-sacrifice and devotion to the state.
- d. Compositions emphasized the Greek ideals of restraint, simplicity, and symmetry.
- 2. Leading artists and works
- a. Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii
- b. Jean-Antoine Houdon, Voltaire Seated
- c. Thomas Jefferson, Monticello (architecture)
