Rococo, also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, and trompe-l'œil frescoes to create surprise and the illusion of motion and drama. It is often described as the final expression of the Baroque movement. The Rococo style began in France in the 1730s as a reaction against the more formal and geometric Louis XIV style. It was known as the "style Rocaille", or "Rocaille style". It soon spread to other parts of Europe, particularly northern Italy, Austria, southern Germany, Central Europe and Russia. It also came to influence other arts, particularly sculpture, furniture, silverware, glassware, painting, music, and theatre.
Rococo art, sometimes called a "feminized" version of the Baroque style, is associated with the aristocracy. Rococo is flamboyant yet light-hearted and often characterized by whites and pastel colors, gilding, and curvaceous lines. The Rococo style typically depicts scenes of youth, love, and nature, and elicits motion and drama. Typically the paintings depict aristocrats or aristocratic leisure-time activities -- like courtship rituals, picnics in a harmonious natural environment, excursions to romantic places.
The Rococo style dominated French art and design until the middle of the 18th century, when the discoveries of Roman antiquities steered French architecture towards neo-classical designs. The Rococo style was particularly exuberant in Italy. Venice was the epicenter of Italian Rococo.
Rococo fashion was based on extravagance, elegance, refinement and decoration. Women's fashion of the seventeenth-century was contrasted by the fashion of the eighteenth-century, which was ornate and sophisticated, the true style of Rococo. These fashions spread beyond the royal court into the salons and cafés of the ascendant bourgeoisie. The exuberant, playful, elegant style of decoration and design that we now know to be 'Rococo' was then known as le style rocaille, le style moderne, le gout.
Here are just some photos of my Italian friends celebrating the Venice Carnevale in their historical costumes.
The Venice Carnevale, renowned as the world's most beautiful festival, dazzles with its extravagant masked costumes donned by wonderful attendees. Beyond the masks, locals exude charm in their preference for painted faces and historical garb, adding to the festival's allure.
As usual, the portrait is done on the busy streets of Venice during Carnevale, and using only natural lighting....
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