Rococo

The Rococo style of art emerged in France in the early 18th century. It is characterized by opulence, grace, playfulness, and lightness in contrast to the heavier themes and darker colors of the earlier Baroque period. Rococo motifs focused on the carefree aristrocratic life and on lighthearted romance rather then heroic battles or religious figures. In the mid-late 18th century, rococo was surpassed by the Neoclassical style.

Further reading

• Fiske Kimball, 1943. Creation of the Rococo (Reprinted as The Creation of the Rococo Decorative Style, 1980).
• Arno Schönberger and Halldor Soehner, 1960. The Age of Rococo Published in the US as The Rococo Age: Art and Civilization of the 18th Century (Originally published in German, 1959).
• Michael Levey, 1980. Painting in Eighteenth-Century Venice, (Revised edition).
• Pal Kelemen, 1967. Baroque and Rococo in Latin America, (2nd edition).