Saturday 11 October 2014

Research/ 18th century style I like

I had to choose a style from the 18th century that I like. In my choice I hesitate between Rococo and Neo-Classicism. I like Rococo because of the cozy and intimate atmosphere that it creates. Rococo gives the feeling of tenderness and femininity, comfort and luxury. When i'm looking at works in Rococo style I get the feeling of positivity, happiness and joy. Perhaps because of the appearance of Rococo as a style depicting the carefree life in the royal court. I always connect the Rococo style with the way of life and the fate of Marie Antoinette at the time, which is a good example of the love of luxury and the waste of money for pampering and beautiful objects for decoration. That contributes to the escalation of tensions that led to the French Revolution. This is the period which represents a more feminine and sensual approach to the design and art in general, you can sense the romantic feeling and the carefree way of life in which the royal court at that time spent their lives. 
In neoclassicism I like the simple forms of design. The elements in architecture, which refer to elements of antiquity. Somehow I connect again neo-classicism with a kind of romance, with nostalgia for a bygone time.What I don't like though, is that sense of seriousness, which is felt by this style, as if after Rococo, has come a time in which one must grow up and stop living in fantasy, to stop and find a solid foundation based on reality. Whereas Rococo primarily reflects the way of life in the royal court, neo-classical is oriented to the national consciousness. Somehow you wish you could have lived in the times of Rococo, yet there's a feeling that lives in you, telling you that this is just a fantasy, and you can't live much longer that way;  just like a beautiful dream that ends.  That gives way to neoclassicism and the seeking for something that is more real, that has his foundations in the past. 


Marie Antoinette 

Versailles: Rococo Interior
Versailess interior: The Queen's bedchamber
Versailles: Interior 
The Catherine palace, Imperial family residence in Russia 

The Catherine palace, Imperial family residence in Russia 

The Catherine palace: Interior 

Rococo furniture 
Rococo furniture
Rococo mirror 
Rococo style dress 
 La Madeleine, Paris. The Madeleine Church was designed in its present form as a temple to the glory of Nepoleon's army.

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