Читать книгу Rococo - Victoria Charles - Страница 7

Jean-Honoré Fragonard, The Swing, 1767.

Oil on canvas, 81 × 64.2 cm.

The Wallace Collection, London.

François Boucher, Madame de Pompadour, 1759.

Oil on canvas, 91 × 68 cm.

The Wallace Collection, London.

The natural reaction against the monarchy, which brusquely cut itself off on all sides and expressed its majesty only in stiff pomp and frivolous ceremonies, particularly from the time when lucky victories ceased to gild the dictator in total brilliance, stirred resistance both in noble circles and in the upper bourgeoisie. The desire for a freer life and open expression was born. Art followed the trend of the age and changed its ideals. The volte-face (turn around) can be seen in the architecture, decoration and artistic representations. The emphasis was placed on nature, which is not to say that now the popular fidelity to nature triumphed, but in relation to the pompous, heroic character assumed by the age of Louis XIV, the fashions and practices above all had certainly grown somewhat more natural. A courtly idyll was being played out, and nature was donned like a mask.