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The Age Of Rococo
Omslag verkleurd / Cover discoloured / / General art / Engels / English / Anglais / Englisch / hard cover / dust jacket / 14 x 20 cm / 157 .pp /
First published January 1, 1984
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 24, 2026
Somewhat hard to follow
Describes different artists notably but doesn’t include their works in illustrations such as Giovanni Tiepolo (which was discussed in about 50% of this short book), Piranesi, Francesco Guardi, etc.
I was not familiar with Canaletto but upon reading the book, I stumbled on a photo of an oil canvas “The Square of Saint Mark’s, Venice” that stopped me on my tracks while perusing the paintings in National Gallery of Arts in DC. It genuinely made my day and reminded me that I am surrounded by so much history.
Lesson learned: Rococo paintings really only fully materialized in France due to King Louis XV and in some areas in Italy. However, Baroque’s influence still largely prevailed in most European countries. Rococo mostly manifested in ceramics, furnitures, and small antiquities. Rococo emerged due to the shift in culture towards aristocracy. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was the theme song of this era. Everyone in their mamas decorated and painted frescoes in their house. But like always, hierarchy in society is still depicted. In other words, the elite paid more in craftsmanship to show their class whereas the working class tried to imitate the French court in their homes but fell short. Veronese inspired Rococo painters — this makes sense as it is the transitory period between Baroque and Rococo. Subjects focused moreso on the lightness, the pastels, movement, ornate, and the whimsical. I don’t think Watteau and Fragonard were mentioned enough given how important they are to the movement.
Unrelated::::
My mind has Lover, You Should’ve Come Over by Jeff Buckley and It Ain’t Over til It’s Over by Lenny Kravitz on repeat! — perpetuated by Love Story: JFK and CBK but I WAS LISTENING TO THESE BEFORE IT CAME OUt
Describes different artists notably but doesn’t include their works in illustrations such as Giovanni Tiepolo (which was discussed in about 50% of this short book), Piranesi, Francesco Guardi, etc.
I was not familiar with Canaletto but upon reading the book, I stumbled on a photo of an oil canvas “The Square of Saint Mark’s, Venice” that stopped me on my tracks while perusing the paintings in National Gallery of Arts in DC. It genuinely made my day and reminded me that I am surrounded by so much history.
Lesson learned: Rococo paintings really only fully materialized in France due to King Louis XV and in some areas in Italy. However, Baroque’s influence still largely prevailed in most European countries. Rococo mostly manifested in ceramics, furnitures, and small antiquities. Rococo emerged due to the shift in culture towards aristocracy. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons was the theme song of this era. Everyone in their mamas decorated and painted frescoes in their house. But like always, hierarchy in society is still depicted. In other words, the elite paid more in craftsmanship to show their class whereas the working class tried to imitate the French court in their homes but fell short. Veronese inspired Rococo painters — this makes sense as it is the transitory period between Baroque and Rococo. Subjects focused moreso on the lightness, the pastels, movement, ornate, and the whimsical. I don’t think Watteau and Fragonard were mentioned enough given how important they are to the movement.
Unrelated::::
My mind has Lover, You Should’ve Come Over by Jeff Buckley and It Ain’t Over til It’s Over by Lenny Kravitz on repeat! — perpetuated by Love Story: JFK and CBK but I WAS LISTENING TO THESE BEFORE IT CAME OUt
May 16, 2019
I enjoyed this, and even though it is a slim book I learned quite a bit that I didn’t know about some 18th century Italian architects. Sometimes the net of rococo seems drawn a little wide – I raised an eyebrow at the inclusion of some of Hogarth’s paintings – but the author is illustrating an aesthetic tradition and its multifarious and sometimes unexpected influences, so this sort of made sense. I think.
The Cassells art books were lovely little publications and so beautifully and lavishly illustrated; unfortunately my copy suffers from the same defect of others in the series – it is thirty years old, and every time I turn one of the illustrated pages it has an alarming tendency to detach itself from the glue of the binding, unless done with extreme care.
The Cassells art books were lovely little publications and so beautifully and lavishly illustrated; unfortunately my copy suffers from the same defect of others in the series – it is thirty years old, and every time I turn one of the illustrated pages it has an alarming tendency to detach itself from the glue of the binding, unless done with extreme care.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews