Rococo

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

A room decorated in the Rococo style, Nymphenburg palace, near Munich.

French Rococo chairs by Louis Delanois (1731–92); in the Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris.

Cupid a Captive, oil on canvas by François Boucher, 1754; in the Wallace Collection, London. 164.5 × 85.5 cm.

Cuvilliés, François de, the Elder: Amalienburg

Figure 33: Sinuous, intricate curves characteristic of the Rococo decorative vocabulary: circular mirror room in the Amalienburg pavilion, Nymphenburg Palace, near Munich, designed by Francois de Cuvi

Chelsea soft-paste porcelain vase in the French Rococo style of Sèvres ware with “mazarin blue” ground and a “reserve” panel painting by John Donaldson (after François Boucher), gold anchor mark, c. 1763; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Figure 12: Ceiling design. (left) Highly ornate Rococo ceiling, Pilgrimage Church at Wies, Upper Bavaria (Germany) designed by Dominkus Zimmerman, 1745.

For Students

Rococo style summary

Read Next

Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.

Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?

Battle of Fleurus (June 16, 1794), the most significant battle in the First Coalition phase of the French Revolutionary Wars; by Jean-Baptiste Mauzaisse, 19th century.

What Led to France’s Reign of Terror?

Discover

solar eclipse, sun, moon, astronomy, space

How Do You Tell the Difference Between Total, Annular, Solar, and Lunar Eclipses?

Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere

Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?

VAN, TURKEY - OCTOBER 25: A building and car ruined during the earthquake of Van-Ercis on October 25, 2011 in Van, Turkey. It is 604 killed and 4152 injured in Van-Ercis Earthquake.

What Is an Aftershock?

Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?

Aphrodite. Greek mythology. Sculpture. Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love and beauty.

12 Greek Gods and Goddesses

Still from the film Deliverance, 1919. The story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan. View shows Keller in the cockpit/front seat of an airplane.

How Did Helen Keller Fly a Plane?

Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).

What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?

Arts & Culture

Rococo

design

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 1, 2024 • Article History

Rococo

See all media

Category: Arts & Culture

Date:: c. 1700 - c. 1770

Related Artists:: Antoine Watteau; Giovanni Battista Tiepolo; Canaletto; Jean-Honoré Fragonard; Thomas Chippendale

See all related content →

Rococo, style in interior design, the decorative arts, painting, architecture, and sculpture that originated in Paris in the early 18th century but was soon adopted throughout France and later in other countries, principally Germany and Austria. It is characterized by lightness, elegance, and an exuberant use of curving natural forms in ornamentation. The word Rococo is derived from the French word rocaille, which denoted the shell-covered rock work that was used to decorate artificial grottoes. At the outset the Rococo style represented a reaction against the ponderous design of Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles and the official Baroque art of ...(100 of 674 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.