Rococo

Rococo
The upper white walls and gold panelling of an oval room, curving seamlessly into a domed ceiling adorned with gilded stucco vines and framed oil paintings.
A young woman in a billowing pink dress swings high in a lush, overgrown garden, while a young man hidden in the bushes looks up at her.
A porcelain figurine of a young couple sitting under a flowering tree, with the boy teaching the girl to play a flute, surrounded by sheep and dogs.
A symmetrical view straight down the aisle of a highly ornate church interior with towering white columns, extensive pastel and gold stucco decorations, and a vaulted ceiling covered in elaborate frescoes.
Top: Ceiling vault of the Salon de la Princesse at the Hôtel de Soubise, Paris (1735–1740); Middle left: The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1767); Middle right: The Music Lesson, Chelsea porcelain (c. 1765); Bottom: Interior of the Pfarrkirche Mariä Geburt at Rottenbuch Abbey, Bavaria (1737–1746)
Additional media
BranchArchitecture, decorative arts, interior design, painting, sculpture, music, theatre, literature, fashion
Years activec. 1730s – 1780s
LocationOriginated in Paris, spreading across Europe (especially Central Europe and Italy) and South America
Major figuresJean-Antoine Watteau, François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Johann Balthasar Neumann, Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier
InfluencesBaroque
InfluencedRococo Revival, Art Nouveau

Rococo, less commonly Roccoco (/rəˈkoʊkoʊ/ ⓘ rə-KOH-koh, US also /ˌroʊkəˈkoʊ/ ROH-kə-KOH; French: [ʁɔkɔko] ⓘ, also [ʁokoko]), is a Western style of architecture, art, and decoration that emerged in France in the 1730s as a reaction against the Louis XIV style. It is characterized by extensive ornamentation, fluid curves, asymmetry, and a smaller scale designed to foster intimacy. It employs rocaille (shell- and pebble-like motifs) and often blends white and pastel colours with gilding and sculpted moulding, using trompe-l'œil frescoes to create spatial illusion. In the visual arts, prevalent themes are aristocratic leisure and the pastoral, depicted in stage-like settings. It is often regarded as the final expression of the Baroque movement and is sometimes called Late Baroque.

Originally known as style rocaille 'rock-work style', Rococo spread from French domestic interiors to other parts of Europe, particularly northern Italy, Austria, southern Germany, broader Central Europe, and Russia. It also influenced painting, sculpture, furniture, silverware, glassware, music, theatre, and literature. It was later adapted for church architecture and became widespread in this form, particularly in Central Europe, Portugal, and South America. By the late 18th century, Rococo was largely replaced by Neoclassicism.

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