Rococo And Neoclassicism

How Rococo and Neoclassicism Illustrate the Process of Deciding

The artists Jean-Honore Fragonard and Jaques-Louis David both successfully embody their respective stylistic differences. Fragonard's style of painting is Rococo, which is characterized by its softness, asymmetry and curviness. Contrasting these ideals is David's style of painting, Neo-Classicism. Neo-Classicism is synonymous with strong gestures, symmetry, and solidness. Two works that best exemplify the ideals of each style of painting are Fragonard's The Swing, 1767 and David's The Death of Socrates, 1787. Although at first glance, it is easier to focus on how each work is different to the other, one can argue that they are similar in theme. Both The Swing and The Death of Socrates are works that deal with the theme of decision making. However, they differ in how each work portrays the theme of deciding. While The Swing focuses on infidelity and the process of deciding, The Death of Socrates makes it clear that loyalty to government is stronger than the ties of friendship or acquaintance. By examining use of light, form, subject matter as well as other artistic elements, one can see how each artist conveys a message by utilizing their style of art.

Although both Fragonard's and David's work convey different ideals through their style of painting, they are still able to use light in a very similar form. The viewer's attention is directed on a specific point in the painting through the use of light. Both artists cast a spotlight on the figure or action in the painting that they want the viewer to especially notice. It is what each artist decides to focus on that makes his work is different from the other. A young woman on a swing who enjoys the pleasures of life is clearly where Fragonard wants to direct the viewer's attention. However, David focuses attention on a male figure, specifically Socrates. How does the use of light help the viewer understand the ideals of each form of art? While Fragonard chooses to focus on a female and David chooses to focus on a male, the viewer now understands how Rococo can be a feminine form of art and Neo-Classicism the opposite. In addition, other stylistic elements like color and form depict how each art form differs from the other. By using all this visual evidence, we will later see how the concept of deciding is presented depending upon which form of art is conveying its ideals.

Soft colors like, pinks and pastels are usually linked to femininity. The colors used in The Swing are soft pastel-like colors that best illustrate the painting's femininity. The masculine ideals imposed by Neo-Classicism are even evident in David's use of color. The colors presented in his work are solid, which suggest a male's ability at making a solid and just decision. On the other hand, the colors used in The Swing are not pure but mixed. Mixing red, yellow, and white probably created the shade of pink in the young woman's dress. This lack of purity conveyed in the colors of The Swing makes it clear to the viewer that a female's decision lacks solidness as well as clarity. The forms used in the painting also illustrate how the process of deciding is dependent

upon which style of art is representing the process. As we continue to utilize this theme of femininity versus masculinity, we can see how the composition of each painting depicts each contrast. The Swing places the viewer inside an outdoors setting that is clearly soft, curvy, and feminine. The Death of Socrates takes place in an indoor setting marked by its attention to geometry, straight lines, and 90-degree angles. When looking at the setting in Fragonard's work, we can see that there is no sense of order or structure, the same that are conveyed in David's The Death of Socrates. This lack of order or structure was used by the Neo-Classicist to repudiate Rococo. By giving their form of art masculine qualities like logic and structure, Neo-Classicists asserted their form of art as being valid in a male dominated society. They claimed that Rococo paintings have no sense of order or logic; they believed the same is true of a woman making a decision. The most crucial form of evidence that suggests the difference in the process of deciding conveyed by each painting is the subject matter of each work, and how the placement of figures is essential to this process. The subject matter of each work is clearly distinct from the other. The Swing represents a delight that could only be enjoyed by those of the aristocracy. The Death of Socrates is a history painting, a favorite genre of the Neo-Classicist. In Fragnorad's work, the placement of figures helps the viewer understand what is taking place in the painting. Fragonard introduces the viewer with three figures: a young man who is closest to the foreground, a young woman on a swing, and an older man