Régence
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| - | :''This article, part of the [[French art|French art history]] series, covers the history of the visual and plastic arts in [[France]] from the late 17th to the late 18th centuries.'' | + | The '''''Régence''''' is the period in [[History of France|French history]] between 1715 and 1723, when King [[Louis XV of France|Louis XV]] was a [[minor (law)|minor]] and the land was governed by a [[Regent]], '''[[Philippe II, Duke of Orléans|Philippe d'Orléans]]''', the nephew of [[Louis XIV of France]]. |
| - | '''French Rococo''' and '''Neoclassicism''' are terms used to describe the visual and plastic arts and architecture in Europe from the late 17th to the late 18th centuries. | + | The era was the time when Philippe was able to prise power away from the [[Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, duc du Maine|Duke of Maine]] (illegitimate son of Louis XIV and [[Madame de Montespan]]) who was the favourite son of the late king and had had much influence. During the Regency there was the ''[[Polysynody]]'' which was the system of government in use in France between 1715 and 1718 and in which each minister (secretary of state) was replaced by a council. The Regent also introduced the ''[[John Law (economist)|système de Law]]'' which transformed the finances of the bankrupted kingdom and its aristocracy. [[Guillaume Dubois|Cardinal Dubois]] and [[André-Hercule de Fleury|Cardinal Fleury]] were key people during the time. |
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| - | In France, the death of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] lead to a period of licentious freedom commonly called the [[Régence]]. The heir to Louis XIV, his great grandson [[Louis XV of France]], was only 5 years old; for the next seven years France was ruled by the regent [[Philippe II of Orléans]]. Versailles was abandoned from 1715 to 1722. Painting turned toward "fêtes galantes", theater settings and the female nude. Painters from this period include [[Antoine Watteau]], [[Nicolas Lancret]] and [[François Boucher]]. | + | |
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| - | The [[Louis XV style]] of decoration (although already apparent at the end of the last reign) was lighter: pastels and wood panels, smaller rooms, less gilding and fewer brocades; shells and garlands and occasional Chinese subjects predominated. Rooms were more intimate. After the return to Versailles, many of the baroque rooms of Louis XIV were redesigned. The official etiquette was also simplified and the notion of privacy was expanded: the king himself retreated from the official bed at night and conversed in private with his mistress. | + | |
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| - | The latter half of the 18th century continued to see French preeminence in Europe, particularly through the arts and sciences, and the [[French language]] was the lingua franca of the European courts. The French academic system continued to produce artists, but some, like [[Jean-Honoré Fragonard]] and [[Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin]], explored new and increasingly impressionist styles of painting with thick brushwork. Although the hierarchy of genres continued to be respected officially, [[Genre works|genre painting]], [[landscape]], [[portrait]] and [[still life]] were extremely fashionable. | + | |
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| - | The writer [[Denis Diderot]] wrote a number of times on the annual [[Paris Salon|Salons]] of the Académie of painting and sculpture and his comments and criticisms are a vital document on the arts of this period. | + | |
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| - | One of Diderot's favorite painters was [[Jean-Baptiste Greuze]]. Although often considered [[kitsch]] by today's standards, his paintings of domestic scenes reveal the importance of [[Sentimentalism]] in the European arts of the period (as also seen in the works of [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] and [[Samuel Richardson]].) | + | |
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| - | One also finds in this period a kind of ''[[Pre-romanticism]]''. [[Hubert Robert]]'s images of ruins, inspired by Italian cappricio paintings, are typical in this respect. So too the change from the rational and geometrical ''French garden'' (of [[André Le Nôtre]]) to the ''English garden'', which emphasized (artificially) wild and irrational nature. One also finds in some of these gardens curious ruins of temples called "follies". | + | |
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| - | The middle of the 18th century saw a turn to [[Neoclassicism]] in France, that is to say a conscious use of Greek and Roman forms and iconography. In painting, the greatest representative of this style is [[Jacques Louis David]] who, mirroring the profiles of Greek vases, emphasized the use of the profile; his subject matter often involved classical history (the death of Socrates, Brutus). The dignity and subject matter of his paintings were greatly inspired by [[Nicolas Poussin]] in the 17th century. | + | |
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| - | The [[Louis XVI style]] of furniture (once again already present in the previous reign) tended toward circles and ovals in chair backs; chair legs were grooved; Greek inspired iconography was used as decoration. | + | |
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| - | The French neoclassical style would greatly contribute to the monumentalism of the [[French revolution]], as typified in the structures [[Eglise de la Madeleine|La Madeleine]] church (begun in 1763 and finished in 1840) which is in the form of a [[Greek temple]] and the mammouth [[Panthéon]] (1764-1812) which today houses the tombs of great Frenchmen. The rationalism and simplicity of classical architecture was seen — in the [[Age of Enlightenment]] — as the antithesis of the backward-looking [[Gothic art|Gothic]]. | + | |
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| - | The Greek and Roman subject matters were also often chosen to promote the values of republicanism. One also finds paintings glorifying the heroes and martyrs of the French revolution, such as David's painting of the assassination of [[Jean-Paul Marat]]. | + | |
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| - | [[Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres]], a student of David's who was also influenced by [[Raphael]] and [[John Flaxman]], would maintain the precision of David's style, while also exploring other mythological (Oedipus and the sphynx, Jupiter and Thetis) and oriental (the Odalesques) subjects in the spirit of [[Romanticism]]. | + | |
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| - | ==References== | + | |
| - | *André Chastel. ''French Art Vol III: The Ancient Régime'' ISBN 2-08-013617-8 | + | |
| + | Contemporary European rulers were [[Philip V of Spain]]; [[John V of Portugal]]; [[George I of Great Britain]]; [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]] and [[Victor Amadeus II of Sardinia|Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy]]; Savoy was the maternal grand father of Louis XV. | ||
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Revision as of 21:31, 26 January 2010
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The Régence is the period in French history between 1715 and 1723, when King Louis XV was a minor and the land was governed by a Regent, Philippe d'Orléans, the nephew of Louis XIV of France.
The era was the time when Philippe was able to prise power away from the Duke of Maine (illegitimate son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan) who was the favourite son of the late king and had had much influence. During the Regency there was the Polysynody which was the system of government in use in France between 1715 and 1718 and in which each minister (secretary of state) was replaced by a council. The Regent also introduced the système de Law which transformed the finances of the bankrupted kingdom and its aristocracy. Cardinal Dubois and Cardinal Fleury were key people during the time.
Contemporary European rulers were Philip V of Spain; John V of Portugal; George I of Great Britain; Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor and Victor Amadeus II, Duke of Savoy; Savoy was the maternal grand father of Louis XV.
Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Régence" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
