Public Sculpture in Paris between 1700 and 1850 (Essay Sample)

The Point of Public Sculpture in Paris between 1700 and 1850
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Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc345326875 \h
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Rococo Art (1700-1775)  PAGEREF _Toc345326876 \h
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Neoclassical sculpture (1790-1830)  PAGEREF _Toc345326877 \h
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Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc345326878 \h
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References  PAGEREF _Toc345326879 \h
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The Point of Public Sculpture in Paris Between 1700 And 1850
Introduction
The 1700’s saw a major revolution of public sculpture in Paris. The developments of public sculpture in continued for long until 1850 with major inventions and intriguing sculptures designed between these years. The development of pubic sculpture in 1700 was part of the Baroque Period that went on until 1750. Artists during the Baroque Period used sculptures to express their feelings to their targeted audience. Sculptures were used to represent famous people in the French society among them leaders and beauty models (Laurie, 2002). It is clear that artists in this period used public sculpture to express emotions as their main objective. Some of the famous Baroque sculptors include Michelangelo and Gianlorenzo who designed works that depicted a high sense of emotion.
Rococo Art (1700-1775)
Rococo period was part of the late Baroque period that ended in 1750. Art and sculptures designed within this period were less formal and grandiose in structure. However, a majority of artists at this time borrowed some elements from the Baroque art. For instance, Massimiliano Soldan Benzi (1715-1730) did a bronze sculpture that incorporated many elements of Baroque art. One of such sculptures illustrated Christ being mourned by Virgin Mary and an Angel. Through the Baroque art, artists used emotion to display specific meanings in their sculptures (Andersen, 1969). Baroque art was later replaced by Rococo style as artists wanted to bring deeper meanings in their works. During the 18th century, the Rococo art, which was mainly French, influenced sculpture and architecture.
The rise of the Rococo movement was prompted by the death of Louis XIV who was the King of France in 1715. The Rococo sculptures were in existence between 1700 and 1789. One of the artists who specialized in Rococo sculptures was Etienne Falconet (1716-1791). Falconet was a specialist in erotic figures such as the ‘Bronze Horseman’ monument. Some of the main qualities of the Rococo sculptures include informality and gaiety. Most of these qualities depicted concern for matters for the heart and certainly avoided seriousness (Horst, 2001). Concisely, Rococo art started as a movement for interior design decoration and women took the center-stage in designing such revelations. Among the artists who specialized in Rococo art included Francois Boucher and Jean-Honore (Andersen, 1969). Nonetheless, as Paris artists became more enlightened and inclined to the aspects interior design decor, women artists became more involved in the industry although they were not as outstanding as men were.
The Rococo style reflected some of these ideological changes that paid little attention to the moral standards of the sculpture. Sculptures made using the Rococo style focused on aristocratic subjects and rarely focused on the subject of religion. As a result, some of the sculptures in this style were erotic while others were revealing and sexual. The sculptures influenced a number of moral aspects in the society and feminine sculptures became common in France, especially in France. Artists who embraced the Rococo style were perceived as more outgoing since they prepared controversial sculptures at times. They went an extra mile to have sculptures that were naked and revealing, which was an indication of the changes in the society in terms of art.
Amusingly, artists using the Rococo style welcomed it because the style allowed them to have sculptures where texture could clearly be illustrated. Sculptures done with Rococo style had clear curves and were asymmetrical in nature. The point of designing such sculptures was a depiction of the milestones in art especially the aspect of freedom of expression. The artists who adopted Rococo style enjoyed the freedom of expression, as there were little ethical limitations. For instance, one of Watteau’s paintings, “Fête venitienne” shows a garden setting with a nude statue at the background. This statue adds value to the painting as it is seen as erotic just like sculptures done by previous artists.
Rococo style was popular as artists could combine rocks and shells to decorate their sculptures. The rocks were mainly used to decorate sculptures done in a garden setup, which was a shift from a Baroque art that used dark and light contrasts. Good color combination was used in the Rococo period to have texture on the paintings or sculptures. In addition, the interior decoration adopted in the Rococo art employed many colors. The significance of such colors in the public sculptures developed at the time was a portrayal of beauty. Public sculptures in Paris that adopted the theme of Rococo arts were attractive and hence on higher demand. Defining figures using color other than just drawing them was an improvement from the Baroque art, and this led to an influx of artists interested in this style. By using erotic scenes in their sculptures, artists were able to reflect the feelings of the French people. However, the scenes attracted immense criticism from the church, which was against sculptures depicting sexual exposures (Horst, 2001). Although acceptable by some religions, Rococo art sculptures were not recommended for display in public places including Churches. This did not distract most of the artists interested in this style as they could display their sculptures or paintings in many other places away from religious centers.
Watteau (1684-1721) played a major role in popularizing Rococo art although the movement had not received the attention it deserved. Watteau was responsible for developing the concept of individualistic art where artists were independent in preparing their sculptures. To avoid controversy, Watteau based his paintings to subjects that were not related to religion or other subjects that would raise ethical concerns to the audience. He proved to others that one could concentrate on simple subjects to develop art and still receive positive recognition in the society. Watteau trained Francois Boucher as his student (1703-1770). Based on teaching from Watteau, Boucher had most of his sculptures and paintings in Rococo style. He is famous for the “Venus Consoling Love” painting done in 1751, which illustrated the extent of freedom that Rococo artists had in expressing their feelings as it featured a nude Venus and her son. In this painting, Venus had her breasts fully exposed and wore a transparent cloth to cover her private parts (Levey, 1966). This brought out the concept of erotic and sexual nature of paintings and sculptures promoted by the Rococo style of art, but more importantly depicted the significance of art in this period, which was freedom of expression. Curves on Venus’ body were well-illustrated, enhancing sexual feelings although it may be argued to be morally unacceptable.
Although most Rococo artists mainly focused on texture and emotion, there were others such as Fragonard (1732-1806) who were considered romantic in their approach. The texture in his sculptures and paintings are not real because most of his paintings lacked faces. Fragonard was one of the last artists to practice Rococo style as the French changed their attitude to issues of morality. As a result, the erotic subjects promoted by Rococo style started were perceived as unethical and lacked moral value. The style became unacceptable in French society, and the French Revolution boosted its decline.
Artists who made Rococo sculptures were able to carve sculptures that expressed their emotions well. As such, Public sculptures in Paris could be made to represent happy individuals and this could easily be illustrated by putting smiles on sculptors. Another away that artists used their sculptures to illustrate joy was by making sculptures that appeared to be in a celebrating mood, jumping or laughing. They achieved this by putting visible teeth on such sculpture and avoiding frowning faces. This was quite significant to the Paris society as it encouraged a happy atmosphere where people from different backgrounds co-existed harmoniously.
Rococo artists were also associated with curving or molding sculptures that avoided seriousness. This was in line with the point of humor depicted by public sculpture. Such sculptures appeared to be putting on smiley faces, grinning, showing funny gestures with their hands or eyes, having big nostrils, or at times having big ears. When people viewed such sculptures, they got relaxed and tempted to laugh at times. Being a source of humor was therefore quite beneficial to most members of the French society (Horst, 2001). At times, most of the public sculptures in Paris were erected in public places such as parks, offices, or recreational centers. The sculptures in such places were used to improve the décor and attract more people in such places.
Another point of public sculpture in Paris was to honor significant historical figures. Some artists made sculptures representing historical figures of people who had participated in national duties or those who held senior leadership positions in the French government. Such sculptures were kept in national museums where many people could access.
Neoclassical sculpture (1790-1830)
Neoclass...