In our quest to discover the greatest exponents of rococo style, it is essential to explore names like Francois de Cuvillies, a French-German who displayed all his talent in the Bavarian Rococo. His most outstanding masterpiece is, without a doubt, the Hunting Lodge at the Nymphenburg Palace, an impressive summer residence west of Munich, Germany.
Francois de Cuvilliés and Rococo architecture in Bavaria
Francois de Cuvilliés is one of the greatest exponents of Rococo in Bavarian architecture. Born in 1695, he combined French and German influences to create monumental structures that are perfect models of Rococo opulence and elegance. The Hunting Lodge at Nymphenburg Palace, built in 1739, is a clear example of how the architect knew how to integrate luxury into a festive and personal atmosphere, key to Rococo. The palace has extremely rich ornamentation, based on geometric and plant motifs, with a splendid use of gold and pastel colours.
In addition to Nymphenburg, Cuvilliés also left his mark on other projects, such as the Residence Theater (Residenz Theatre) in Munich, an architectural space that was devastated during World War II and rebuilt, although it lost some original Rococo details.
Dominikus Zimmermann and the Wies Church
Another notable example of German Rococo architecture is the Church of Wies, whose construction took place between 1745 and 1754 under the direction of Dominikus ZimmermanLocated in the district of Weilheim-Schongau, at the foot of the Bavarian Alps, this pilgrimage church was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. The Wies Church is renowned for its interior decoration, full of gilded details, stuccos, and frescoes that create a resplendent and heavenly atmosphere. Curves and arches are essential to the structure, providing dynamism and fluidity.
Johann Balthasar Neumann and the Würzburg Palace
Johann Balthasar Neumann, born in 1687, is also considered one of the great exponents of Rococo in Germany. An imperial architect, he worked on a series of Catholic churches and palaces, highlighting the Würzburg Palace, a masterpiece begun in 1720 that combines elements of late Baroque and Rococo. The grandeur of the Würzburg Palace lies in its freshness and refined decoration, but above all in the monumentality of its main staircase and galleries.
Neumann was also the architect of the Basilica of Vierzehnheiligen in Bavaria, another emblem of religious Rococo. Its interiors are richly decorated with stucco and frescoes depicting heavenly scenes, and its decor is flooded with natural light, making the space a unique sensory experience.
Rococo painting: Watteau, Boucher and Fragonard
In the field of painting, Rococo flourished from delicate and sensual themes. French painters Jean-Antoine Watteau, François Boucher y Jean-Honore Fragonard are three of the most prominent names in this style.
Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) introduced into Rococo painting a lyricism that combined eroticism with grace. His pastoral scenes and his depictions of gallant parties were a novelty in the art of the time. Works such as Pilgrimage to the island of Kythera (1717), which can be seen in the Louvre Museum, are iconic examples of his style.
François Boucher (1703-1770), for his part, was the favourite painter of Madame de Pompadour, the influential favourite of King Louis XV. Boucher painted mythological and pastoral subjects with an exuberant touch. His work Diana after bath (1742) is a great example of his mastery in the representation of the nude and female sensuality.
Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732-1806), a contemporary of Boucher, took Rococo to its ultimate extremes. His scenes full of dynamism, such as The swing (1767), are perfect elements of the Rococo style, with pastel colours, fluid shapes and a quality of eternal play.
Rococo sculpture: Falconet and Corradini
In sculpture, Rococo also had outstanding exponents such as Étienne Maurice Falconet y Antonio CorradiniFalconet, protected by Madame de Pompadour, is known for his famous work Threatening Cupid (1757), which presents the mythological god in a playful and erotic way.
On the other hand, Antonio Corradini, an Italian sculptor famous for his skill with marble, created masterpieces such as The Veiled Truth, where he represents the human body covered by a veil finely sculpted in marble, demonstrating his technical mastery.
Both sculptors managed to capture the essence of the lightness and playfulness of Rococo, moving away from Baroque drama by focusing on more mundane themes and beauty for its own sake.
With sumptuous decoration in architecture, interiors and artistic expressions such as painting and sculpture, Rococo was established as a style that represented the longing of an idle aristocracy for pleasure, sensuality and entertainment., in their search to escape the boredom of courtly life. Over time, this movement declined and was replaced by Neoclassicism, a reaction that would bring back the values of classical antiquity.