Understand Rococo in 1 Minute
Here's your two minute guide to Rococo starring Paris Hilton, pastel macarons, Sofia Coppola, and a very naughty swing.
🎄Christmas is coming. Instead of buying useless stuff on Amazon for your loved ones, give them a year of culture. 🎄
IF ROCOCO WERE...
EMOJIS
🌸🥂🍰🕯️🎀
A CAKE
Macaron parisien: Delicate almond shells in pastel colors, filled with cream, stacked like jewels in a box, pure ornamental pleasure.
A MOVIE
Marie Antoinette (2006): Sofia Coppola literally filmed this at Versailles with a New Wave soundtrack and pastel macarons, making it the most Rococo thing ever created in the 21st century.
A NOVEL
Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos: It explores the exact moral looseness and erotic mind games depicted in the paintings.
COLORS
Pantone 15-1046 (Golden Honey),
Pantone 18-0228 (Olive Branch),
Pantone 14-4115 (Plein Air),
Pantone 15-1423 (Peach Bloom)
A CAR
1959 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz (Pink): It has massive tailfins and excessive chrome that serve no function other than pure aesthetic drama.
A PERSONALITY
Paris Hilton : She invented being famous for doing nothing but enjoying leisure time, wearing pink, and carrying a small dog.
A SPORT
Rhythmic gymnastics: Technical excellence expressed through graceful, flowing movements with ribbons and hoops.
A WINE/ALCOHOL
Moët & Chandon Impérial Rosé: The champagne Marie Antoinette actually drank, rumored to have inspired the shape of her champagne coupe.
A CITY
Vienna, Austria: Palaces dripping with gold stucco, coffee houses serving Sachertorte with whipped cream mountains, a city built for lingering over chocolate and beauty.
A STORE BRAND
Ladurée: Pastel boxes, gold lettering, and interiors that look like Marie Antoinette’s bedroom exploded in the most delicious way possible.
A PLAYLIST
“The Four Seasons: Spring” by Vivaldi (Baroque but basically Rococo’s soundtrack)
“Clair de Lune” by Debussy (Dreamy, delicate, impossibly romantic)
“La Vie en Rose” by Édith Piaf (Life through rose-colored glasses)
“Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac (Floating, ethereal, effortlessly elegant)
“Champagne Supernova” by Oasis (Because obviously)
A NETFLIX SERIES
Emily in Paris: A plotless, pastel fantasy of Paris where reality does not exist and the biggest problem is deciding which handsome chef to date.
CLUEDO MODE: HOW TO SPOT A ROCOCO PAINTING
Pastel colors: Pink, blue, cream, mint, peach, gold
Curved lines: Everything flows, no straight edges
Shells and flowers: Rocaille motifs, roses, ribbons
Cherubs: Fat naked babies floating
Intimate scenes: Gardens, boudoirs, picnics
Gold details: Elaborate frames and gilding
Playful subjects: Lovers, aristocrats as shepherds
Asymmetry: Organic compositions
TOP 10 ESSENTIAL ARTISTS
Jean Honoré Fragonard
François Boucher
Antoine Watteau
Giovanni Battista Tiepolo
Thomas Gainsborough
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
Jean Baptiste Siméon Chardin
Canaletto
William Hogarth
Jean-Marc Nattier
TOP 3 MUSEUMS TO SEE ROCOCO MASTERPIECES
The Wallace Collection, London
The Louvre Museum, Paris
The Frick Collection, New York City
IF YOU REMEMBER ONLY ONE PAINTING...
“The Swing” by Jean Honoré Fragonard: A girl kicks off her shoe to a hidden lover looking up her skirt while her clueless husband pushes the swing, perfectly encapsulating the era’s humor and naughtiness.
KEY DATES
Circa 1730 to 1770
THE SHORT HISTORY
Rococo emerged in France after the death of Louis XIV, when the nobility escaped the rigid grandeur of Versailles to build intimate townhouses in Paris.
They wanted a style that was comfortable, private, and devoted to pleasure rather than power. It flourished under Louis XV and his mistress Madame de Pompadour, spreading across Europe to Italy and Germany.
However, it ended abruptly when Enlightenment critics called it immoral and the French Revolution guillotined the very lifestyle it depicted.
FUN FACT FOR YOUR NEXT DINNER PARTY
The term “Rococo” was originally an insult invented by students in the 1790s. It combined the French word rocaille (stone garden decoration) with the Italian word barocco (Baroque) to mock the style for being totally frivolous and ridiculous.
🎄Christmas is coming. Instead of buying useless stuff on Amazon for your loved ones, give them a year of culture. (limited to the first 100 people). 🎄
In 2006, we visited Paris with our teenage nieces where we went to Versailles on one day and the next day we saw Marie Antoinette in the theatre. So good. Especially since the girls were very excited to recognize places they had just seen the day before!