Six Key Rococo Artists from Watteau to Gainsborough

A survey of six major Rococo artists highlights the movement's spread across France, Italy, and Britain. Antoine Watteau (1684-1721) pioneered the fête galante genre with works like 'Pilgrimage to the Isle of Cythera' (1718, Charlottenburg Palace, Berlin), depicting aristocratic courtship in idyllic settings. François Boucher (1703-1770), favorite painter of Madame de Pompadour, created decorative works such as 'The Toilette of Venus' (1751, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) for the Château de Bellevue. Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Boucher's student, captured pre-Revolutionary aristocratic frivolity in 'The Swing' (1767-1768, Wallace Collection, London). Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842), portraitist to Marie Antoinette, painted 'Self Portrait in a Straw Hat' (1782, National Gallery, London) projecting upper-class professionalism. In Venice, Canaletto (Giovanni Antonio Canal, 1697-1768) produced vedute like 'A Regatta on the Grand Canal' (1740, National Gallery, London) for Grand Tour visitors. British Rococo is represented by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788), whose 'The Blue Boy' (1770, Huntington Library, San Marino) shows Dutch influence and is considered a queer icon.