Rocaille (US:/roʊˈkaɪ,rɒˈkaɪ/ro(h)-KY,[1][2][3][4]French:[ʁɔkɑj]) was a French style of elaborate design that appeared in furniture and interiordecoration during the early reign ofLouis XV. A reaction against the heaviness and formality of theLouis XIV style, it featured an abundance of curves, counter-curves, undulations, and elements modeled on nature. Beginning around 1710, it reached its peak in the 1730s, and came to an end in the late 1750s when it was replaced byNeoclassicism.[5][6] It marked the beginning of the FrenchBaroque movement in furniture and design, as well as the beginning of theRococo movement, which had spread to Italy, Bavaria, and Austria by the mid-18th century.
Rocaille was exuberant and inspired by nature like Rococo, but, unlike Rococo, it was usually symmetrical and not overloaded with decoration. It took its name from the mixture of rock, seashell and plaster that was used to create a picturesque effect ingrottos during theRenaissance, and from the name of a seashell-shaped ornament which was frequent feature of Rocaille decoration.[7] In 1736, the designer and jeweler Jean Mondon published thePremier Livre: De forme Rocquaille et Cartel, a collection of designs for ornaments of furniture and interior decoration. It was the first appearance in print of the termrocaille to designate the style.[8]
The style was used particularly in salons, a new style of room designed to impress and entertain guests. The most prominent example was the salon of the Princess inHôtel de Soubise in Paris, designed byGermain Boffrand andCharles-Joseph Natoire (1735–1740). The characteristics of French Rococo included exceptional artistry, especially in the complex frames made for mirrors and paintings, which sculpted in plaster and often gilded; sinuous curves and counter-cures, and the use of vegetal forms (vines, leaves, flowers) intertwined in complex designs. The leading furniture designers in the style includedJuste-Aurele Meissonier andCharles Cressent, along with the wood craftsmanNicolas Pineau.[9]
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Rocaille decoration was heavily loaded with decoration modeled on seashells, cascades of leaves and flowers, palm leaves, and other natural elements. The decor on walls and furniture was usually made of carved wood or plaster which was gilded. The French designer Bernard Toro produced a book of flamboyant early Rocaille patterns in 1716, which was widely circulated in Europe. The first major craftsman in the style wasJuste-Aurèle Meissonnier, followed byJean Bérain the Elder,Gilles-Marie Oppenordt,Nicolas Pineau, and the sculptor-modelersThomas Germain,Jacques Caffieri, and the GermanJean-Claude Duplessis.[6]
The master cabinet makers orébénistes of rocaille furniture includedMathieu Criaerd (1689–1776), who became a master in 1738. He was particularly known both for his fine marquetry or inlay, and for his chests with a Chinese or Japanese theme, with fine Chinese lacquer or Martin varnish, and ornaments of gilded and sculpted bronze.[10]
Another important figure of the rocaille style was the ébéntisteCharles Cressent (1685–1768), who was a master craftsman both in the guild of wood carvers and bronze ornament sculptors, a rare accomplishment earned respectively in 1708 and 1714. Cressent made furniture not only forLouis XV, but also for the King of Portugal and for the Elector of Bavaria. He is best known for his commodes, book cases and desks, which were often inlaid with rosewood and violet wood and equipped with particularly fine rocaille ornament of gilded bronze, including infants intermingled with birds and cascading vegetation. He introduced several stylistic innovations, including theespagnolettes à aigrette, small busts of young women, applied to the corners of his commodes and desks. This became a common decoration used by other masters of the rocaille.[11]
Other notable furniture craftsmen included the members of the Cresson family, Louis Cresson (1706–1761), Rene Cresson (1705–1749) andMichel Cresson (1709–1781), all of whom provided exceptionally crafted chairs,armoires, commodes and other furnishings for royal residences. Their children also becamemenuisiers andébénistes during the reign ofLouis XVI.[10]
Rocaille decoration was common in the wooden wall panels and other interior decoration between 1730 and 1750. The trim was usually made of carved and gilded wood orstucco against a white background. The panels in the frames often also had decorative painting, usually ofarabesques or colorful floral patterns, and often featured animals or exotic subjects, set in China, Japan, or Turkey.
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Besides its use in furniture, the style appeared in porcelain and metalwork. In 1738, theManufacture de Vincennes was founded thanks to the support ofLouis XV andMadame de Pompadour, in order to compete with the manufactories atChantilly andMeissen.[12] In 1756, the manufactury was moved to a building inSèvres, built at the initiative of Madame de Pompadour, near herchâteau.
The most remarkable rocaille metal work included the cast iron and gilded fences and gates created by iron maker Jean Lamour for the newPlace Stanislas inNancy between 1750 and 1758 as the Duchy of Lorraine was attached to France. The square was completed with an ensemble of buildings whose balconies and suspended lamps matched the grillwork of the fence and gates.[13]
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The Rocaille influenced theChippendale style in England, and the work of the Belgian-born Bavarian decorative artistFrançois de Cuvilliés. The style also became very popular for a time in Italy, particularly in Venice, and spread to Austria, Bavaria and Spain, where it took on a more exuberant and overcharged form.
The discovery of Greek antiquities beginning in 1738 atHerculanum and especially atPompeii in 1748 turned French architecture in the direction of the more symmetrical and less flamboyant neo-classicism and theLouis XV style. Furniture and decoration became more geometric; furniture legs became straight, resembling Roman or Grecian columns, and the ornate carving on the exterior of furniture was increasingly replaced by fine inlays of multicolored wood.
