The Art Angle

Re-Air: Why Is Rococo Art Making a Comeback?


Listen Later

When Madame du Barry, King Louis XV’s last mistress, pleaded for “just a little moment more” before her execution in 1793, in the throes of the French Revolution, she seemed to capture the fleeting pleasures and indulgence of the Rococo age.

Artnet Editor Katie White eloquently described this moment before du Barry’s death in the opening of a recent essay, exploring how, centuries later, the aesthetic of whimsy, romance, and unapologetic luxury is making a bold return. She calls it Neo-Rococo.

So what is Neo-Rococo, really? It’s a contemporary movement that merges the delicate pastels, ornamental elegance, and sensuality of 18th-century Rococo with modernist abstraction and feminist perspectives of contemporary art. Artists like Flora Yukhnovich, Michaela Yearwood-Dan, and Francesca DiMattio are key figures in this revival. They draw on the decorative roots of Rococo while addressing the complexities of today’s world.

On this episode of The Art Angle, Katie joins Senior Editor, Kate Brown, to discuss this fascinating resurgence of a centuries-old aesthetic sensibility, and how it extends beyond the art world into broader pop culture.

What lessons can we learn from this era of late Baroque history? Quite a few as a turns out. And some surprising ones—these artists are actually subverting the escapist art movement to draw out some interesting questions about beauty and femininity.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Art AngleBy Artnet News

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

300 ratings


More shows like The Art Angle

View all
Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

285 Listeners

The Modern Art Notes Podcast by Tyler Green

The Modern Art Notes Podcast

477 Listeners

Savvy Painter Podcast with Antrese Wood by Antrese Wood

Savvy Painter Podcast with Antrese Wood

861 Listeners

The Lonely Palette by Tamar Avishai

The Lonely Palette

799 Listeners

Hyperallergic by Hyperallergic

Hyperallergic

150 Listeners

The Week in Art by The Art Newspaper

The Week in Art

201 Listeners

Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast by David Zwirner

Dialogues: The David Zwirner Podcast

398 Listeners

I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists by Erika b Hess

I Like Your Work: Conversations with Artists

222 Listeners

Talk Art by Russell Tovey and Robert Diament

Talk Art

483 Listeners

Art Juice: A podcast for artists, creatives and art lovers by Louise Fletcher/Alice Sheridan

Art Juice: A podcast for artists, creatives and art lovers

710 Listeners

The Great Women Artists by Katy Hessel

The Great Women Artists

525 Listeners

A brush with... by The Art Newspaper

A brush with...

140 Listeners

NOTA BENE: This Week in the Art World by Benjamin Godsill & Nate Freeman

NOTA BENE: This Week in the Art World

140 Listeners

Art2Life by Nicholas Wilton

Art2Life

596 Listeners

Critics at Large | The New Yorker by The New Yorker

Critics at Large | The New Yorker

551 Listeners