The Idyll Before the Storm
Art of Rococo France

This exhibition illustrates the fine and decorative arts of 18th century Rococo France and beyond through the examination of porcelain and works on paper. While these objects exemplify the artistic brilliance of the era, they also emphasize the lack of social morals on the part of the upper class. The aristocracy and nobility of this age preferred to indulge in visual and physical pleasures while most men, women and children were left with few if any systems of social welfare. The great divide between rich and poor laid the seeds for revolution in which the “Ancien Régime” would eventually fall at the hands of the masses.
The Rococo period is marked by a distinct reaction against the Baroque period which prized oversized rigid grandeur in a masculine style. The Rococo era emphasized works of art which were asymmetrical, atmospheric, and feminine. Works on paper by artists such as Jacques Philippe Caresme and Jean Baptiste Pillment will be juxtaposed by superb examples of 18th-century works of porcelain from the great Sevres factory. German counterparts of porcelain by Meissen will also be included to illustrate the great rivalry between the wealthy in their quest for pleasure and decadence.