Question

Please explain the difference b/w baroque and rococo, and how the styles were reflected in art.

Answer 1

The primary difference between Baroque and Rococo art is that Baroque describes the grand, overstated, dynamic late-European art between 1650 and 1700, while Rococo is a late-Baroque response that embodied light playfulness and more intimacy. During the Baroque period, art reflected the strength of Catholicism and royalty by embodying opulence and ornamentation. The Rococo period arose after the death of Louis XIV in 1715 with the dawn of a softer and more relaxed age. This was reflected first in the decorative arts, as interior design became lighter and more decorative, and then in painting, as artists used asymmetry and playful whimsy as an informal interpretation.

While both Baroque and Rococo were centered in Europe, Baroque began in Rome and was heavily influenced by the Roman Catholic church, which supported religious themes in painting and the arts as a reaction to the advance of Protestantism. Rococo began in France and was embraced by the French monarchy before spreading to most of the rest of Europe. Both Baroque and Rococo were an extension of the stylistic changes characteristic of the Renaissance period. Each was characterized by elaborate detail and motion, but Baroque was heavier, masculine, and more serious. Rococo was lighter and more feminine.