The Role Of Women In Baroque Art

The representation and importance of the female figure in society has been argued for centuries on end. Across global cultures historically, women have suffered a gendered unfairness that has misconstrued the female identity for ages. It was not until the eighteenth century Enlightenment that the woman became idealized as a member of society, beginning in France. The female figure suddenly became a revolutionary symbol of change from the monarchy to the democracy, quintessentially through art, as it is art that defines the past cultures that we study. The Rococo art movement was the first to blossom in this century and uncoincidentally focuses on the femininity of decorative arts and interior design, as well as paintings. This feminine imagery …show more content…
This movement was called the Rococo. After the death of Louis XIV in 1715, the date that which historians mark the beginning of the Enlightenment, the French court moved from Versailles back to their old Parisian mansions, redecorating their homes using softer, more feminine designs and more modest materials than that of the late King’s baroque style. Instead of surrounding themselves with precious metals and rich colors, materials that define the previously dominant Baroque style, the French aristocracy now lived in intimate interiors adorned with asymmetry, curves, elegance, and the new paintings of French Rococo of daily life and courtly love. (Seen below is an example of a famous Rococo painting by famous French painter Jean-Antoine Watteau entitled The Embarkation for Cythera. It depicts the celebration of love and is characterized by light and wispy …show more content…
This is a stark juxtaposition compared to the preconceived knowledge of the eighteenth century being known for the Enlightenment and French Revolution: both distinguishable events that are commonly characterized with a change in knowledge and positive societal change. So why does Toth feel differently? “It [the eighteenth century] was below average, it sometimes bordered upon inconceivable barbarism, in the technique of everyday affairs, but above all, it was mediocre in its moral and intellectual stature” (Toth 22). This standpoint allows Toth to distinguish himself against history. Thus, without a basis of intelligent societal change in French society, Toth describes the eighteenth century as “his century, the century of Rococo” (Toth 270). The argument that Toth presents is that the Enlightenment and Rococo movement were forefronted by none other than men, more specifically the “Frenchman,” who he believes is the crux of mankind and culture. Toth explains that these events happened because men let them happen, as it is men who have complete societal power in this