Rococo salons are known for their elaborate detail, serpentine design
work, asymmetry, predisposition to lighter, pastel, and gold-based
color palettes.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE [ edit ]
Discuss the importance of the Rococo salon in France and its typical design
KEY POINTS [ edit ]
After the reign of Louis XIV, the wealthy and aristocratic moved back to Paris from Versailles and
began decorating their homes in the new Rococo style that was associated with King Louis XV.
The notion of the ‘salon' is an Enlightenment-era ideal that transformed the salon, or living room,
into the central space for aristocracy to entertain guests and engage in intellectual conversation.
Rococo interiors are highly unified in nature, and represent the coming together of a number of
decorative arts.
As with other Rococo art forms, the color palette is lighter, thelines are curvaceous ('S' curve), and
the decoration is excessive.
Furniture rose to new heights in the period and emphasized lighthearted frivolity.
Furniture, friezes, sculpture, metalwork, wall, and ceiling decoration are woven together
stylistically in the Rococo salon.
TERMS [ edit ]
palette
the range of colors in a given work or body of work
asymmetry
Lacking a common measure between two objects or quantities; incommensurability.
serpentine
Sinuous; curving in alternate directions.
mahogany
Any of various tropical American evergreen trees, of the genus Swietenia, having a valuable hard
red-brown wood.
Give us feedback on this content: FULL TEXT [edit ]
In 18thcentury Europe,
theRococo stylebecame prevalent in
interior design, painting,sculpture, and
the decorative arts. A reaction to the
rigidity of Baroquestyle, the frivolous and
playful Rococo first manifested itself with
interior design and decorative work. In
French, the word ‘salon' simply means
‘living room' or ‘parlor'; therefore, Rococo
salons are central rooms that are designed
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in the Rococo style. In addition, the notion of the ‘salon' is an Enlightenment-era ideal that
transformed the salon, or living room, into the centralspace for aristocracy to entertain guests
and engage in intellectual conversation. The idea that one's architectural surroundings
should encourage a way of life, or reflect one'svalues, was the philosophy of the time.
The Rococo interior reached its height in the ‘total art work' of the salon. Rococo salons are
characterized by their elaborate detail, intricate patterns, serpentine design work,
andasymmetry, plus a predisposition to lighter, pastel, and gold-based color palettes .
Bureau Danton de l'Hôtel de Bourvallais
Example of a Rococo salon
After the reign of Louis XIV, the wealthy and aristocratic moved back to Paris from Versailles
and began decorating their homes in the new Rococo style that was associated with King
Louis XV. Rococo interiors are highly unified in nature, and represent a coming together of a
number of the decorative arts. Furniture,friezes, sculpture, metalwork, wall and ceiling
decoration are woven together stylistically in the Rococo salon. As with other Rococo
art forms, the color palette is lighter, the lines are curvaceous and the decoration is excessive.
As another means of reflecting status, furniture rose to new heights in the period dominated
by the Rococo salon. Rococo furniture emphasizes the lighthearted frivolity that was prized
by the style. It is meant to be comfortable and versatile. During this time, furniture design
became lighter, so to be easily moved around for gatherings, and many specialized pieces
came to prominence, such as the ‘fauteuil chair,' the ‘voyeuse chair,' and the ‘berger et
gondola. ' Furniture in the Rococo period was freestanding—as opposed to wall-based—to
accentuate the lighthearted and versatile atmosphere that was desired by the
aristocracy. Mahogany became the most widely used mediumdue to its strength, and mirrors
also became increasingly popular.
Rococo salons often employed the use of asymmetry in design, which was termed ‘contraste.'
Interior ornament included the use of sculptured forms on ceilings and walls, often
somewhatabstract or employing leafy or shell-like textures. Two excellent examples of French
Rococo are the Salon de Monsieur le Prince in the Petit Château at Chantilly, decorated by
Jean Aubert; and the salons in the Hotel Soubise, Paris, by Germain Boffrand . Both of these
salons exhibit typical Rococo style with walls, ceilings, and molding decorated with delicate
interlacings of curves based on the fundamental shapes of the 'S,' as well as with shell forms
and other natural shapes.
Salon de la Princesse
Rococo interior from the Hotel de Soubise, Paris.
In France, the style began to decline by the 1750s. Criticized for its triviality and excess in
ornament, Rococo style had already become more austere by the 1760s,
as Neoclassicism began to replace the Rococo in France and the rest of Europe.