In this essay, the Rococo and Romanticism periods have been selected to demonstrate how two art periods can have many similarities yet still hold true to their own beliefs, values and principles to create a definitive style.

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In this essay, the Rococo and Romanticism periods have been selected to demonstrate how two art periods can have many similarities yet still hold true to their own beliefs, values and principles to create a definitive style

. Antoine Watteau's painting,  L'Indifferent, 1716, oil on canvas, 25cm x 18cm and Eugene Delacroix's   Paganini, 1831, oil on cardboard on wood panel, approx. 43cm x 28cm have been selected  to represent the Rococo and Romanticism periods respectively.

                 

Rococo was a style of art that followed on from the  Baroque period in the early 18th century.  The artists of this style typically depicted themes of "love, artfully and archly pursued through erotic frivolity and playful intrigue". 1  Both the art and interior design of the time displayed a sense of rhythm in which "[e]verything seemed organic, growing, and in motion, an ultimate refinement of illusion". 2  The artists of this period were also starting to express themselves and their feelings about their themes in their work.  Some of the works seem to be edging toward the ideals of the Romanticism period, even though they were at opposite ends of the 18th century.

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Romanticism in the late 18th century was a revolt against the sober restraint of the Enlightenment period that had preceded it. 3  This was a period encompassing the "desire for freedom - not only political freedom but also freedom of thought, of feeling, of action, of worship, of speech and of taste". 4  Artists wanted only to produce pure, truthful art that was  "based on the predominance of feeling and imagination." 5   Works in the Romantic period depict not only the Romantic ideal of love but also  'Gothic' horror, as this too could be explored to ...

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