Morality and Art of the Classical Era

   
 The Classical Era had two different styles of art that had two very different connections to morality in this time period. The style of the two that came first was Rococo style. Rococo style art in the Classical era was not seen to depict true philosophy of any type instead simply seen and enjoyed for entertainment. Rococo art is beautiful, feminine, bright, and carefree. It generally showed curving shapes in form with pastel colors making the subject matter light. Rococo style of art is highly romantic and idealized even going as far as saying hedonistic. It is not a reflection of real life or morality. Rococo style caused awareness for people to question if Classical era art and artists were emphasizing on mortality enough in their creations. on I will be examining two painting from this style, A Young Lady with a Parrot (1730), by Rosalba Carriera and The Stolen Kiss (1780), by Jean-Honoroe Fragonard. Rococo style reigned over the world until around 1775, but by 1785 it was clear  the style of art reigning over the world had become Neoclassical style. Neoclassical style art had a symbolic message that focused much greater than Rococo style on moral virtue and good and moral deeds. Neoclassical style was also much more traditional and had rules/guidelines. This style was also much more somber and liner in its depictions but often capturing a frozen moment in time. The subject matter in Neoclassical style was often classical antiquity and acts for the good of all rather than acts being self-serving subject matters as Rococo style often shared. The one Neoclassical style of art we will be looking at today is La Grande Odalisque (1814) by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.  I am going to be looking at and comparing these three pieces of art, their styles, and how they both are connected to the topic of morality in art in the classical era.

Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Stolen Kiss, 1780, Oil on canvas

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, La Grande Odalisque, 1814, Oil on canvas

Rosalba Carriera, A Lady With a Parrot, 1730, Pastel on blue laid paper

    Without having prior knowledge of the influences behind each movement the Rococo and Neoclassical movements could seem similar initially. Even in these three paintings you see the erotic or romantic themes, and the French styling in each, but with a closer look, you will see why each clearly shows the differences in these two movements. In A Young Lady with a Parrot (1730), by Rosalba Carriera, a troublesome parrot lifts the ruffled trim of a young woman, dressed in a nice dress. The action and subject, both eliciting some erotic reaction, while still having the “modesty” of the rococo movement shows Carriera’s command of the style. This being compared to the Neoclassical La Grande Odalisque (1814), By Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, in which the subject is in the nude, displayed with exotic objects, laying on a bed much like earlier paintings of Roman or Greek myths. In the Neoclassical movement, a return to the earlier classical styles became popular, as well as Greek and Roman philosophy. In all three paintings you can see the detail in the cloth and props, the exuberant settings and clothing, but a notable difference would be the settings and props themselves. While the style of Ingres’ painting and position and display of his model draws from earlier styles the exotic peacock fan, headdress, and pipe indicate a more “distant” foreign setting. The Rococo style depicted scenes of youthful love, and had a relatability to them that made the modest eroticism more powerful, almost more possible or probable in nature. This is seen In The Stolen Kiss (1780), in which Jean-Honoroe Fragonard depicts an anomalous moment between two young subjects. A crowded room behind one doorway, the young man leaving out the other, stealing a kiss as he leaves. This scene highlights the relatability that the Rococo movement was known for, eliciting the excitement and troublesome passion of young love.

Work Cited

Carriera, Rosalba. “A Young Lady with a Parrot.” The Art Institute of Chicago, Prints and Drawings, www.artic.edu/artworks/103887/a-young-lady-with-a-parrot.

Mark Harden's Artchive: "Neo-Classical Art", www.artchive.com/artchive/neo_classical.html.

“Painting Colonial Culture: Ingres's La Grand Odalisque (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/enlightenment-revolution/a/ingres-la-grand-odalisque.

“The Stolen Kiss (Fragonard).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stolen_Kiss_(Fragonard).

“Stolen Kiss.” Art Works, hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/digital-collection/01.+paintings/37606.

Trapasso, Erica. “A Brief History of Rococo Art.” Artnet News, Artnet News, 10 Mar. 2015, news.artnet.com/market/a-brief-history-of-rococo-art-32790.

“‘The Stolen Kiss’ by Jean-Honoré Fragonard.” Joy of Museums Virtual Tours, 6 Aug. 2020, joyofmuseums.com/museums/russian-federation/saint-petersburg/hermitage-museum/the-stolen-kiss-by-jean-honore-fragonard/.