The main distinction between Baroque and Rococo art is that Baroque refers to grand, overstated, dynamic late-European art between 1650 and 1700, whereas Rococo is a late-Baroque response that embodied light playfulness and intimacy. Art during the Baroque period embodied opulence and ornamentation, reflecting the strength of Catholicism and royalty. The Rococo period began after Louis XIV’s death in 1715, with the dawn of a softer, more relaxed era. This was first seen in the decorative arts, where interior design became lighter and more decorative, and then in painting, where artists used asymmetry and playful whimsy as an informal interpretation.
While both the Baroque and the Rococo periods were centered in Europe, the 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 Protestantism’s advance. Rococo originated in France and was adopted by the French monarchy before spreading throughout Europe. Both the Baroque and Rococo periods were extensions of the Renaissance period’s stylistic changes. Each had intricate detail and movement, but the Baroque was heavier, more masculine, and more serious. Rococo was a lighter, more feminine period.
The predominant philosophies of the times in which each style flourished are reflected in Baroque and Rococo. Naturalism grew in popularity as astronomy and science progressed, resulting in the Baroque period. While retaining some elements of Classicism and strongly religious themes, art of this period became increasingly active and dynamic, portraying motion through space and time.
The term “Baroque” is thought to have originated from the Portuguese word “barroco,” which means “rough pearl with an irregular shape.” It was intended as a slur to describe what critics saw as an overly ornate, theatrical perversion of the Classical style. As with Rubens and Bernini, there was an emphasis on the sensuous visual representation of intangible symbols, which some thought was garish and extreme.
In contrast to the Baroque, Rococo artists used curvilinear forms and repetitive, naturalistic, organic shapes in their decoration. Rococo began as an interior design movement and spread to architecture, music, and paintings during the period. The arts reflected this more relaxed way of life and embraced the more informal surroundings of the city when the French royals abandoned Versailles to spend more time in Paris. Fragonard’s “The Swing,” an asymmetrical rendering of a young lady kicking off her shoe at the statue of the god of discretion while swinging high above her beau stretched out on the ground, captures a hint of naughtiness. Both Baroque and Rococo art reflected a new interest in understanding the physical world that led to the birth of the modern world in very different ways.