Once upon a time, I wrote this

Art History was the HARDEST class I took at BYU. It took constant studying and memorization to do well. Serious note-taking, the ONLY class I used my laptop in because of the amount of content covered each class and how swiftly my professor went through it. Although it was the hardest class I took, I did well and felt very accomplished when it was over. I kept a Blue Book essay that I wrote for one of our finals. In order to prepare for our finals/exams in this class, our professor would show us 4-5 different essay questions. We would have to be prepared for each one and on exam day, he would pull a random question out and that would be our test. Each question required several pieces of art, knowledge of style and cultural influence, artist and dates to be remembered. Needless to say, it was A LOT of memorization. I have kept this blue book in my car since 2009. I didn't want to lose it because I was pretty proud of it. I got a 92% on it, which was one of the highest grades on this examination. So, once upon a time, I wrote this and got an A... I was smart. :) I included pictures so the essay will make more sense to those who don't know the pieces. ENJOY!

Art History 202 – Professor Magleby – M/W 9:30-10:45am class

Examination essay – 03/09/09

Essay Prompt: Describe the differences in social practice among the nobility before and after the death of Louis XIV. Compare works of painting, architecture, and interior design that highlight the distinction between 17^th and 18^th Century French visual culture and the life style of privilege. Discuss the history of the term Rococo, and suggest why its style, subject matter and symbols were found to be so appealing in the 1^st half o f the 18^th Century in France and elsewhere in Europe. Also discuss two artists who rejected rococo style and subject matter.

King Louis XIV, he loved his legs

            Louis XIV was one of the most influential people in France during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, both before and after his death. Not only did he influence France, but the whole of Europe. As an absolute monarch, his ideas and beliefs made a large impact on the cultural practices, including art.

Versailles

Versailles immaculate gardens

            In 1668, Louis XIV began the expansion of the small hunting lodge chateau that had been built by his predecessor; Louis XIII. He turned this into the palace of Versailles, and as a monarch, commanded all the court nobility to reside here as well. Everything was about Louis, everything was for Louis. Louis the XIV identified himself with Apollo, the sun god, and as everyone basically had to “worship” Louis, they too worshiped Apollo. The decoration in and around the palace of Versailles demonstrated this very thing.

Apollo, the Sun God

Hall of Mirrors, LeBrun & Mansart

            The Hall of Mirrors, which was renovated in 1680 by one of the designers, LeBrun, and was completed by Mansart, was a grandiose hall. Mansart covered this area, making it indoor, and an ideal theater for Louis. The mirrors inside reflected the sun through opposite, and similarly shaped windows. The candles at night in the reflection of the mirrors would have been awe-inspiring. Louis prided himself on his legs and dancing ability and this was a perfectly setup theater for him to perform in. Lining the ceiling was the works of LeVav, another designer, who depicted heroic scenes of Louis XIV assisted by the gods. The garden of Versailles were immaculate and neatly trimmed. Fountains depicted scenes of Apollo, and some would turn on as the king approached. One of the niches had a sculpted scene, Apollo Attended by the Nymphs of Thetis, which was done by Girardon in 1670. It depicts Apollo as he has just returned from his duties, as the sun god, being cared for and bathed by the nymphs, again this is identified with Louis XIV. His bedroom was also careful placed so that on his birthday the sun would align with the East-West running roads, and his room, thus confirming his identity.

Apollo Attended by the Nymphs of Thetis, Girardon

            The court, during this time, were almost captives. They were required to live at Versailles, be around other nobles all the time, be ready in the morning for the ceremonies of the Levee, arising the king (sun god), getting him dressed, etc. And again, at night to tuck him in. It was probably an exhausting life to live. However, other rulers around Europe wished to be like him, an absolute monarch, and all of Europe was somewhat rigid.

            After the death of Louis XIV, the style of Rococo took flight. From the French word, Roccailles, Rococo means shell-like, has s-curves, c-curves, curly cues. The style itself is very light hearted, frivolous all about love, loose brushwork in the paintings, pastel colors and sensual. The aristocracy especially enjoyed this style due to its relaxing nature, and fun loving light heartedness. After the obvious rigidity, which Louis XIV demanded, Europe, especially France, took a deep breath and sighed in relief. Even the immaculately cared for gardens grew wild. The monarch was dead, and the cultural practices in the eighteenth century changed in reaction. Works of art, interior design and architecture changed to reflect this new style as well.

Pilgrimage to the Island of Cythera, Watteau

            In 1720, Watteau’s Pilgrimage to the island of Cythera displayed the cultural changes, as well as the new Rococo style. This work shows couples, who have just spent a perfect day on the Island of Cythera, of love-where Venus is worshiped. Nothing can dampen the obvious happiness that radiates to the viewer. Couples are in love, touching, holding hands. But there is a sense of fleeting, not lasting, which was also typical of the time. Sensual, frivolous love was desired. The brush work is loose, and especially brings out the wild landscape that is seen. The trees are unkempt and free, much how the nobility now felt.

Salon de la Princesse, Boffard

            Free from Versailles, many fled to Paris, and rather than living in large mansions, or anything as grandiose as Versailles, the nobility now preferred small houses, hotels, and salons where built. These areas were small in comparison to Versailles, and much more intimate. The nobility were now at their leisure to spend days and evenings with whomever they wished, they were on their own timetable and desired much smaller, private, intimate settings – as they were getting away from their previous practices at Versailles. One Salon, the Salon de la Princesse, built and designed by Boffard in 1730, was an example of these smaller settings. They were also collapsible and could be taken anywhere they wanted, it spoke freedom! The decorations inside the room were typical Rococo style: curving designs, the walls and ceiling blending into each other, making it difficult to distinguish where the wall stopped and ceiling started. Light and sunny colors were employed, along with glittering silver and gold, which complimented the light cream walls. Putti and cupids adorn the wall and ceiling, and the trim is swirling, flowing and curling in Rococo style. The nobility could sit in here and enjoy a small form of entertainment, like a string quartet. The vast Hall of Mirrors from Versailles were done with, and this quiet intimate setting replaced it. They would invite those they wanted.

In The Meeting, Fragonard

            The typical theme of fleeting love, which goes hand in hand with the times, cultural practices, and Rococo style are evident in Fragonards scenes of the Progress of Love. In The Meeting, a girl and boy are meeting in secret. She looks over her shoulder to make sure she has not been followed, still clutching the letter arranging their time and place, in her hand. The meeting will be short, fleeting and senuous, as the painting clearly implies. Statue of Cupid above, is shown looking down on them, observing his work of creating love. The foliage and general landscape is, again, wild and unkempt, as desired. The pastel colors and brightness of the picture give off a lighthearted feeling.

Death of Marat, David

            Although this style was obviously preferred and appealing to the culture, there were those who rejected the style of Rococo and subject matter. Instead, industrial and Enlightenment ideas took place. In David’s 1790 piece of the Death of Marat, the viewer can see that Rococo has been done away with for this painter. David was a member of the Jacobean society, which made him sympathetic to the plight of the revolution. In this neoclassic work, no frivolity, sensuousness or lightheartedness is shown. Instead, a somber, serious mood is felt. The work displays just after the event of the death of Marat took place. Corday, who was a young woman and part of the opposing party, thought Marat responsible for riots, which had ended in many of her party killed. She wished him to pay for his actions and used a ruse, in way of a letter, to enter Marat’s chamber. Because of a skin ailment, Marat worked while seated in a medicinal bathtub. His humble boxes, suitcases made for his furniture. Rather than depicting the climax of the story, David down plays the event by showing Marat already stabbed. Corday fled after stabbing him, and her bloody knife is shown left on the ground. Still clutching a quill and the letter, which Corday had used to enter, he is shown dead in his tub. Blood stains the cloth and turns the water red. His right arm, draped over the tub, is reminiscent of Michelangelo’s Pieta, and Caravaggio’s Entombment, likening Marat to past saints, and even Christ. David used his ideals of patriotism to display Marat as a martyr for political reasons. His box, used as a desk, depicts his name, and is his tombstone.

Cornelia Pointing to Her Children as Her Treasures, Angelica Kauffmann

            A second work, which rejects the Rococo style, is Angelica Kauffmann’s, Cornelia Pointing to Her Children as Her Treasures, in 1790. True to the emerging ideas of the Enlightenment, and desires to show virtues, Kauffman has portrayed a visitor showing Cornelia her jewels and worldly treasures. She asks Cornelia, her hostess, where her treasures are. Cornelia, as a virtuous mother, points to her three small children (one daughter and 2 sons) as her treasures. This depiction of a “good mother” is only enhanced by the fact that her two sons grew up to be reforming leaders. It is almost as if she is showing what needs to happen if you want your children to grow up just as successful.

            Many changes took place in the 17^th and 18^th Centuries, because of, and as a result of the life and death of Louis XIV. Cultural practices all over France and the rest of Europe changed and evolved as a result of Louis XIV’s death. The Rococo style emerged and depicted the cultural changes in idea and behavior. However, there were some who rejected the changes, and displayed other ideas. The influence of the monarch throughout time and all over countries was displayed during the 17^th and 18^th Century in both behavior and art.