Back To Baroque : We Begin With Rococo

New Monday, new week and a new feature. Welcome to our first Back To Baroque column on Bella & Millou. As I mentioned here, I wanted to create a blogspace that shared my love for classical beauty and art so it seems fitting that I should dedicate a whole column to a style of artistic aesthetic that so heavily influenced some of my favourite artists of all genres and pre-dated the school of Neoclassicism that underpins much of the classical art we see today.

Le Chapeau de Paille by Peter Paul Rubens

When I think of Baroque, I think of the grand, opulent, colourfully verdant paintings of Peter Paul Rubens. At the heart of Baroque is the desire to create works of art that are poignantly dramatic, capturing the ‘live action’ of any moment in the human experience. What I’d like to write about today though is Rococo. Let’s just say I’m more of a Rococo kind of girl.

Now, lest you think Rococo is an ode to frivolity of the highest extravagance (insert Marie Antoinette reference here. I heart that movie by the way), let me clarify. Yes, Rococo evolved in France and the rest of Europe as a reaction to the serious drama that was prevalent in works created earlier in the 17^th-18^th centuries. Yes, it probably brings to mind images of chubby angels, gold everywhere and pastoral frivolity but what I like the most about Rococo is its attention to playful enchantment and lighthearted beauty.

Besides iconic moments in hair . . .

And the societal importance of skills in dance . . .

Portrait By Francoise Boucher

Rococo softened the drama of Baroque into curvaceous form, brought spontaneity and variety to the music of the day as evinced by composers such as Bach and idealized beauty by adding a sense of childlike wonder.

Hall of Mirrors, Amalienburg, Nymphenburg Palace Park, Munich

Architecture remained heavily ornamental yet décor became more personal and reliant on the need to showcase a comfortable space where tete –a- tetes could be held more intimately and love letters written in flair and style.

Perhaps the works of this era capture our imagination because of their inherent idealism. We find ourselves fascinated by the artistic attention given to creating beauty of a most heightened level simply as an end to itself.  And if that doesn’t do it for you . . . well there are iconic moments in hair by Marie Antointette!