French Periods

The French periods included some of my favorite styles in the history of art and design. These are some of the most lavish in history and included the Baroque style, Rococo and Neoclassic. Not only the lives of the royals were drama filled and interesting, but so were the furniture, interiors, and pieces of art. The style I am choosing to talk about is the Rococo style. Following the time of the Baroque, the Rococo had many unique characteristics. At this time, Louie the 15th was in control and \drove the country into bankrupcy. He was a disasterous leader where the main focus was on pleasure and frivillous money spending. This was a time for playful behavior which is reflected in the artwork. This was also the rise of the common people and comfortable and private living became more popular rather than the outstanding chateaux and palaces.
Where the Baroque style was very dark in color, the Rococo liked to use light colors and pastels, in their design, art, and architecture. It was very feminine, which most likely hints at why I like it so much. The feminine touch was influenced by the mistresses of the king. Everything was also much smaller in scale than the Baroque period.

Below is a picture of a Rococo interior that features these characteristics.

The furniture was more 3D in appearance. Furniture also included the cabriole leg. One of the most famous pieces of furniture was the Bureau de Roi made by cabinetmaker Jean Francois Oeben. Madame de Pompadour, the king's mistress was one of his biggest clients.

Another famous piece of furniture from this period was the tete-a-tete chair which was for gossiping and socializing.

Here are some modern images of Rococo interiors. I find it interesting that most are black and white with a few pops of color. The Rococo was so into the light, pastel colors, but the style of the furniture definitely represents the Rococo period, just with a modern twist with the black and white.