Rococo Quiz: 5

The Swing (1767) by Jean-Honoré Fragonard The woman in the image above is Marie Antoinette.

False

Rococo paintings typically use which painting technique:

painterly brushstrokes

Marie Antoinette was known for her exaggerated version of a popular hairstyle of the 18th century called the:

pouf

King Louis XIV associated himself with which ancient mythological figure? The fountain shown above reflects this connection.

Apollo

The Roman numeral XIV is equal to:

14

The Roman numeral XVI is equal to:

16

The renovation of Versailles began in 1661 and was completed ________ later.

21 years

King Louis XIV lived in Versailles along with his family, his closest friends, family, courtiers, servants and soldiers (about 20,000 people). The place has 700 rooms, 2,153 windows, and takes up 67,000 square meters of floor space. This is the size of about 12 football fields. About how many square feet is this?

700,000 square feet

Rococo paintings often celebrate the lifestyle associated with the:

Ancien Régime

The gardens of Versailles consist of almost 2,000 acres of manicured lawns, fountains and paths arranged in the formal garden style of the prestigious landscape designer, ____________________________.

André le Nôtre

The themes of Rococo paintings often include the following EXCEPT:

Christian piety

The exterior of Versailles is reminiscent of __________________ architecture. The basic structure is symmetrical, repetitive, and based on simple elements that are directly borrowed from ancient Greek temples. The façade that faces the gardens looks remarkably similar to the White House in Washington, DC, albeit much bigger and not so white. This style of architecture was intended to remind people of the greatness of the antique Greek and Roman past. When Versailles was being built, this ancient past was seen as the root of the intellectual and aesthetic superiority they believed had descended to the French nation. He was making a direct link from himself all the way back to the great thinkers and builders of the ancient, classical, past.

Classical

The most famous room is the ___________________, which runs along the entire length of the central building. One wall contains a row of giant windows looking out over the gardens and the other wall is covered with 357 mirrors that catch the rising sun's rays inside the palace and remind us yet again of Louis XIV's power. Since Louis XIV's day, the room has also been used for parties (the masked ball for the wedding of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette) and military agreements (the Treaty of Versailles that officially ended World War I was signed here in 1919).

Hall of Mirrors

King Louis XIV was an absolute ruler. He is famously quoted as saying, "L'état, c'est moi," which means______________________________. By building Versailles, Louis shifted the seat of French government away from the noble families in Paris.

I am the state.

The image above is from the Progress of Love series, painted in the 1770's by which Rococo artist:

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

The man shown in the image above is ____________________________. He was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the longest recorded of any monarch of a sovereign country in European history.

King Louis XIV

The man shown at the center of the above painting was ______________________. He was married to Marie Antoinette. He was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He began his reign in 1774 at the age of 19. He died by the guillotine in 1793 at the age of 38.

King Louis XVI

____________________ was an important part of life at Versailles. For example, the process for the king to wake up and go to sleep involved multitude of courtiers waiting on the king while he got up or went to bed, following strict rules of position and rank to determine who got to perform which parts of the ceremony.

Ritual

The Swing by Jean-Honoré Fragonard reflects which style of art?

Rococo

The interior of Versailles reflects the _____________________ style of architecture and design. This ornate decoration demonstrates his wealth and glory.

Rococo

Marie Antoinette's influential dressmaker and stylist was given the disparaging nickname, "Minister of Fashion".

Rose Bertin

King Louis XIV filled both the palace and its gardens with sculpture, painting, and fountains that all focused on himself and his role as _____________________. He had the whole palace and its massive gardens built along an East/West axis so the sun would rise and set in alignment with his home. And he filled both the palace and its gardens with sculpture, painting, and fountains that all focused on himself. He used a lot of shiny and reflective materials such as gold, mirrors, and glass.

Sun King

What was Versailles before King Louis XIV began his extensive renovations in 1661?

a royal hunting lodge

Pilgrimage to Cythera (1717) by Antoine Watteau The subject of the painting above is a _______________, which is a French term that describes a small gathering of people, usually outdoors. This was a common subject of Rococo art in the 18th century. These images provided a glimpse into the lifestyles of the ancien régime - their fashionable clothing, their leisure pursuits, and their romantic liaisons.

fête galante

Marie Antoinette's dressmaker is often credited with bringing ______________________, or high-end fashion into the forefront of popular culture.

haute couture