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Article: Rococo
- Article from:
- Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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ROCOCO
ROCOCO.
A style of art characteristic of the eighteenth century, its focal point was France, where it was the dominant style during the first half of the century, although it enjoyed manifestations throughout Europe. Etymologically, "rococo" probably derived from a combination of the first two syllables of the French words
rocaille
(a form of rockwork found in architectural ornament and decorative arts) and
coquillage
(a shell motif that accompanied the
rocaille
). Coined in the 1790s by students of the neoclassical French painter Jacques-Louis David (1748
–
1825), "rococo" began as a pejorative expression. In an ironic twist of history, however, the earliest instance of ...