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The Human Form: Rococo

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George de la Tour (1593-1652)

Work rediscovered 1915
Court painter for Louis the XIII, but local bourgeoisie main market
Light his true subject?
Vanitas; Memento Mori

Reflection on fragility and vanity of human life

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De la Tour, The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds, 1635

The lavishly clothed youth on the right sits pondering his hand, completely unaware of the fact that the other three are conspiring against him and plan to seize the gold coins still in his possession. To us spectators it is clear that all his efforts are futile: the man on the left is hiding a couple of aces behind his back and is about to use one. The clothes of the people at the table reveal their status: the servant on the left in a maid’s dress, the card sharp’s picaresque outfit, the low-cut bodice of courtesan in the middle, and of course the expensively decorated garb of our young victim.

The visual language with which La Tour conveys the scene is impressive. The painting’s tension is created by the various gazes that indicate the secret that the three connivers share. Although in fact nobody is looking at each other, their eyes, all turned to their extreme right corners, form the connecting points of a triangle. Similarly, the proximity of their hands symbolizes their cooperation. One of La Tour’s trouvailles is that the cheat looks behind him and tips his cards toward the viewer, thus making us accessories to the crime

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Nicholas Poussin, 1594-1665

Most of life in Rome
Painter to Louis XIII (before de la Tour)
Richelieu & the Academy

Self Portrait, 1650,

Throughout his life Poussin stood apart from the popular tendency toward the decorative in French art of his time. In Poussin's works a survival of the impulses of the RenaissanceThroughout his life Poussin stood apart from the popular tendency toward the decorative in French art of his time. In Poussin's works a survival of the impulses of the Renaissance is coupled with conscious reference to the art of classical antiquityThroughout his life Poussin stood apart from the popular tendency toward the decorative in French art of his time. In Poussin's works a survival of the impulses of the Renaissance is coupled with conscious reference to the art of classical antiquity as the standard of excellence. Rejecting the emotionalism of Baroque artists such as BerniniThroughout his life Poussin stood apart from the popular tendency toward the decorative in French art of his time. In Poussin's works a survival of the impulses of the Renaissance is coupled with conscious reference to the art of classical antiquity as the standard of excellence. Rejecting the emotionalism of Baroque artists such as Bernini and Pietro da CortonaThroughout his life Poussin stood apart from the popular tendency toward the decorative in French art of his time. In Poussin's works a survival of the impulses of the Renaissance is coupled with conscious reference to the art of classical antiquity as the standard of excellence. Rejecting the emotionalism of Baroque artists such as Bernini and Pietro da Cortona, he emphasized the cerebral.[48] His goal was clarity of expression achieved by disegno or ‘nobility of design’ in preference to colore or color

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Poussin, The Shepherds of Arcadia, 1647

After the collapse of the Roman power in the west, Arcadia remained as part of the Greek-speaking Byzantine EmpireAfter the collapse of the Roman power in the west, Arcadia remained as part of the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire. Arcadia remained a beautiful, secluded area, and its inhabitants became proverbial as herdsmen leading simple pastoral unsophisticated yet happy lives, to the point that Arcadia may refer to some imaginary idyllic paradise, immortalized by Virgil may refer to some imaginary idyllic paradise, immortalized by Virgil's Eclogues

The Latin phrase Et in Arcadia ego, which is usually interpreted to mean "Even in Arcadia there am I", is an example of memento mori, a cautionary reminder of the transitory nature of life and the inevitability of death

The most important difference between the two versions is that in the latter version, one of the two shepherds recognizes the shadow of his companion on the tomb and circumscribes the silhouette with his finger. According to an ancient tradition (see Pliny the Elder, Natural HistoryXXXV 5, 15), this is the moment in which the art of painting is first discovered. Thus, the shepherd's shadow is the first image in art history. But the shadow on the tomb is also a symbol of death (in the first version symbolized by a skull on the top of the tomb). The meaning of this highly intricate composition seems to be that, from prehistory onward, the discovery of art has been the creative response of humankind to the shocking fact of mortality. Thus, death’s claim to rule even Arcadia is challenged by art (symbolized by the beautifully dressed maiden), who must insist that she was discovered in Arcadia too, and that she is the legitimate ruler everywhere, whilst death only usurps its power. In the face of death, art's duty—indeed, her raison d’être—is to recall absent loved ones, console anxieties, evoke and reconcile conflicting emotions, surmount isolation, and facilitate the expression of the unutterable.[4]

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Time defending Truth (or, Truth stolen away) from the attacks of Envy and Discord, for the study of Cardinal Richelieu, 1642

ALLEGORY: a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

: the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence

Although an allegory uses symbols, it is different from symbolism. An allegory is a complete narrativeAlthough an allegory uses symbols, it is different from symbolism. An allegory is a complete narrative that involves characters and events that stand for an abstract idea or event. A symbolAlthough an allegory uses symbols, it is different from symbolism. An allegory is a complete narrative that involves characters and events that stand for an abstract idea or event. A symbol, on the other hand, is an object that stands for another object, giving it a particular meaning. Unlike allegory, symbolism does not tell a story. For example, Plato, in his Allegory of Cave, tells a story of how some people are ignorant, while at the same time other people “see the light.”

I.E Animal Farm, by George Orwell

Writers use allegory to add different layers of meanings to their works. Allegory makes their stories and characters multidimensional, so that they stand for something larger in meaning than what they literally stand for. Allegory allows writers to put forward their moral and political points of view.

Ouroboros:As a symbol of the eternal unity of all things, the cycle of birth and death ; In Gnosticism, a serpent biting its tail symbolized eternity and the soul of the world

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Rococo

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Watteau, 1684-1721

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Boucher, 1703-1770

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Fragonard, 1732-1806

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Denis Diderot, 1713-1784

Denis Diderot, 1769,

Diderot is considered by many as the fisrt great art critic. Indeed, through a literary newsletter edited by the German Baron, Grimm, (La Correspondence Literaire) Diderot provides records of the Art Salons that took place every two years in Paris as well as thoughtful descriptions of each of the paintings exhibited. The newsletter was read by a very small elite of Europen society such as the Tsar of Russia, the King of Poland and other members of the aristocracy. Because it was so exclusive, Diderot's writings in the Correspondance Litéraire escaped censorship and he was thus able to express himself freely on the works of the artists of his time.

"An artist, Diderot believed, produced a beautiful work of art through a combination of factors: close observation, hard work, use of the imagination, and the ability to rediscover first thoughts. An implicit or intuitive reasoning guided both the artist and the spectator in both the creative process and the appreciation of art. It was necessary for artists as well as those who wished to experience their work to tap into an objective natural energy and vitality that is internal to nature. He describes this objective vitality by quoting Virgil: 'It is a spirit that resides within, that is diffused throughout the mass, that animates it, and that coalesces into the great whole.'"

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Jean Jaques Rousseau

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Marguerite Gerard, 1761-1837

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Marie Louise Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun (1755-1842)