Although the Baroque and Neoclassical styles that had dominated the seventeenth century continued into the eighteenth century, by the 1730s a new style known as Rococo (ruh-KOH-koh) had begun to affect decoration and architecture all over Europe. Unlike the Baroque, which stressed majesty, power, and movement, Rococo emphasized grace and gentle action. Rococo rejected strict geometrical patterns and had a fondness for curves; it liked to follow the wandering lines of natural objects, such as seashells and flowers. It made much use of interlaced designs colored in gold with delicate contours and graceful curves. Highly secular, its lightness and charm spoke of the pursuit of pleasure, happiness, and love.
Antoine Watteau, Return from Cythera. Antoine Watteau was one of the most gifted painters in eighteenth-century France. His portrayal of aristocratic life reveals a world of elegance, wealth, and pleasure. In this painting, which is considered his masterpiece, Watteau depicts a group of aristocratic lovers about to depart from the island of Cythera, where they have paid homage to Venus, the goddess of love. Luxuriously dressed, they move from the woodlands to a golden barge that is waiting to take them from the island.
Louvre, Paris//© R_eunion des Mus_ees Nationaux/Art Resource, NY
Some of Rococo’s appeal is evident already in the work of Antoine Watteau (AHN-twahn wah-TOH) (1684–1721), whose lyrical views of aristocratic life—refined, sensual, civilized, with gentlemen and ladies in elegant dress—reflected a world of upper-class pleasure and joy. Underneath that exterior, however, was an element of sadness as the artist revealed the fragility and transitory nature of pleasure, love, and life.
Another aspect of Rococo was that its decorative work could easily be used with Baroque architecture. The palace of Versailles had made an enormous impact on Europe. “Keeping up with the Bourbons” became important as the Austrian emperor, the Swedish king, German princes and prince-bishops, Italian princes, and even a Russian tsar built grandiose palaces. While emulating Versailles’s size, they were modeled less after the French classical style of Versailles than after the seventeenth-century Italian Baroque, as modified by a series of brilliant German and Austrian sculptor-architects. This Baroque-Rococo architectural style of the eighteenth century was used in both palaces and churches, and often the same architects designed both. This is evident in the work of one of the greatest architects of the eighteenth century, Balthasar Neumann (BAHL-tuh-zahr NOI-mahn) (1687–1753).
Neumann’s two masterpieces are the pilgrimage church of the Vierzehnheiligen (feer-tsayn-HY-li-gen) (Fourteen Saints) in southern Germany and the Bishop’s Palace, known as the Residenz, the residential palace of the Schönborn (SHURN-bawn) prince-bishop of Würzburg (VOORTS-boork). Secular and spiritual become easily interchangeable in both buildings as the visitor is greeted by lavish and fanciful ornament; light, bright colors; and elaborate, rich detail.
Despite the popularity of the Rococo style, Neoclassicism continued to maintain a strong appeal and in the late eighteenth century emerged in France as an established movement. Neoclassical artists wanted to recapture the dignity and simplicity of the Classical style of ancient Greece and Rome. Some were especially influenced by the recent excavations of the ancient Roman cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. Classical elements are evident in the work of Jacques-Louis David (ZHAHK-LWEE dah-VEED) (1748–1825). In the Oath of the Horatii, he re-created a scene from Roman history in which the three Horatius brothers swore an oath before their father, proclaiming their willingness to sacrifice their lives for their country. David’s Neoclassical style, with its moral seriousness and its emphasis on honor and patriotism, made him extremely popular during the French Revolution.
Vierzehnheiligen, Exterior View. Balthasar Neumann, one of the most prominent architects of the eighteenth century, used the Baroque-Rococo style of architecture to design some of the most beautiful buildings of the century. Pictured here is the exterior of his pilgrimage church of the Vierzehnheiligen (Fourteen Saints), located in southern Germany.
Courtesy of James R. Spencer
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MUSIC The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries were the formative years of classical music and saw the rise of the opera and oratorio, the sonata, the concerto, and the symphony. The Italians were the first to develop these genres but were soon followed by the Germans, Austrians, and English. As in previous centuries, most musicians depended on a patron—a prince, a well-endowed ecclesiastic, or an aristocrat. The many individual princes, archbishops, and bishops, each with his own court, provided the patronage that made Italy and Germany the musical leaders of Europe.
Many of the techniques of the Baroque musical style, which dominated Europe between 1600 and 1750, were perfected by two composers—Bach and Handel—who stand out as musical geniuses. Johann Sebastian Bach (yoh-HAHN suh-BASS-chun BAKH) (1685–1750) came from a family of musicians. Bach held the post of organist and music director at a number of small German courts before becoming director of church music at the Church of Saint Thomas in Leipzig in 1723. There Bach composed his Mass in B Minor, his Saint Matthew’s Passion, and the cantatas and motets that have established his reputation as one of the greatest composers of all time. For Bach, music was above all a means to worship God; in his own words, his task in life was to make “well-ordered music in the honor of God.”
Vierzehnheiligen, Interior View. Pictured here is the interior of the Vierzehnheiligen, the pilgrimage church designed by Balthasar Neumann. Elaborate detail, blazing light, rich colors, and opulent decoration were blended together to create a work of stunning beauty. The pilgrim in search of holiness is struck by an incredible richness of detail. Persuaded by joy rather than fear, the believer is lifted toward heaven on a cloud of rapture.
© Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY
The other great musical giant of the early eighteenth century, George Frederick Handel (HAN-dul) (1685– 1759), was, like Bach, born in Saxony in Germany and in the same year. In contrast to Bach’s quiet provincial life, however, Handel experienced a stormy international career and was profoundly secular in temperament. After studying in Italy, where he began his career by writing operas in the Italian manner, in 1712 he moved to England, where he spent most of his adult life attempting to run an opera company. Although patronized by the English royal court, Handel wrote music for large public audiences and was not averse to writing huge, unusual-sounding pieces.
Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii. The Frenchman David was one of the most famous Neoclassical artists of the late eighteenth century. To immerse himself in the world of Classical antiquity, he painted the Oath of the Horatii in Rome. Thanks to its emphasis on patriotic duty, the work became an instant hit in both Paris and Rome.
Louvre, Paris//© R_eunion des Mus_ees Nationaux/Art Resource, NY
The band for his Fireworks Music, for example, was supposed to be accompanied by 101 cannons. Although he wrote more than forty operas and much other secular music, the worldly Handel is, ironically, probably best known for his religious music. His Messiah has been called “one of those rare works that appeal immediately to everyone, and yet is indisputably a masterpiece of the highest order.”10
Although Bach and Handel composed many instrumental suites and concerti, orchestral music did not come to the fore until the second half of the eighteenth century, when new instruments such as the piano appeared. A new musical period, the classical era (1750–1830), also emerged, represented by two great innovators—Haydn and Mozart. Their renown caused the musical center of Europe to shift from Italy and Germany to the Austrian Empire.
Franz Joseph Haydn (FRAHNTS YO-zef HY-dun) (1732–1809) spent most of his adult life as musical director for the wealthy Hungarian princes, the Esterhazy brothers. Haydn was incredibly prolific, composing 104 symphonies in addition to string quartets, concerti, songs, oratorios, and Masses. His visits to England in 1790 and 1794 introduced him to another world, where musicians wrote for public concerts rather than princely patrons. This “liberty,” as he called it, induced him t
o write his two great oratorios, The Creation and The Seasons, both of which were dedicated to the common people.
The concerto, symphony, and opera all reached their zenith in the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (VULF- gahng ah-muh-DAY-uss MOH-tsart) (1756–1791), a child prodigy who gave his first harpsichord concert at six and wrote his first opera at twelve. He, too, sought a patron, but his discontent with the overly demanding archbishop of Salzburg forced him to move to Vienna, where his failure to find a permanent patron made his life miserable. Nevertheless, he wrote music prolifically and passionately until he died a debt-ridden pauper at thirty-five (see the Film & History feature). Mozart carried the tradition of Italian comic opera to new heights with The Marriage of Figaro, based on a Parisian play of the 1780s in which a valet outwits and outsings his noble employers, and Don Giovanni, a “black comedy” about the havoc Don Giovanni wrought on earth before he descended into hell. The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, and Don Giovanni are three of the world’s greatest operas. Mozart composed with an ease of melody and a blend of grace, precision, and emotion that arguably no one has ever excelled. Haydn remarked to Mozart’s father that “your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by reputation.”
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NOVEL The eighteenth century was also decisive in the development of the novel. The novel was not a completely new literary genre but grew out of the medieval romances and the picaresque stories of the sixteenth century. The English are credited with establishing the modern novel as the chief vehicle for fiction writing. With no established rules, the novel was open to much experimentation. It also proved especially attractive to women readers and women writers.
Mozart as Child Prodigy. This painting, done in Paris in 1763 or 1764, shows the seven-year-old Mozart playing at the harpsichord while his composer father, Leopold, plays the violin and his sister, Nannerl, sings. Crowds greeted the young Mozart enthusiastically throughout the family’s three-year tour of northern Europe.
© Mus_ee Condé Chantilly//Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library
Samuel Richardson (1689–1761) was a printer by trade and did not turn to writing until his fifties. His first novel, Pamela: or, Virtue Rewarded, focused on a servant girl’s resistance to numerous seduction attempts by her master. Finally, by reading the girl’s letters describing her feelings about his efforts, the master realizes that she has a good mind as well as an attractive body and marries her. Virtue is rewarded. Pamela won Richardson a large audience as he appealed to the growing cult of sensibility in the eighteenth century—the taste for the sentimental and emotional. Samuel Johnson, another great English writer of the century and an even greater wit, remarked, “If you were to read Richardson for the story … you would hang yourself. But you must read him for the sentiment.”
Reacting against the moral seriousness of Richardson, Henry Fielding (1707–1754) wrote novels about people without scruples who survived by their wits. His best work was The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, a lengthy novel about the numerous adventures of a young scoundrel. Fielding presented scenes of English life from the hovels of London to the country houses of the aristocracy. In a number of hilarious episodes, he described characters akin to real types in English society. Although he emphasized action rather than inner feeling, Fielding did his own moralizing by attacking the hypocrisy of his age.
THE WRITING OF HISTORY The philosophes were responsible for creating a revolution in the writing of history. Their secular orientation caused them to eliminate the role of God in history and freed them to concentrate on events themselves and search for causal relationships in the natural world. Earlier, the humanist historians of the Renaissance had also placed their histories in purely secular settings, but not with the same intensity and complete removal of God.
The philosophe-historians also broadened the scope of history from the humanists’ preoccupation with politics. Politics still predominated in the work of Enlightenment historians, but they also paid attention to economic, social, intellectual, and cultural developments. As Voltaire explained in his masterpiece, The Age of Louis XIV: “It is not merely the life of Louis XIV that we propose to write; we have a wider aim in view. We shall endeavor to depict for posterity, not the actions of a single man, but the spirit of men in the most enlightened age the world has ever seen.”11. In seeking to describe the “totality of past human experience,” Voltaire initiated the modern ideal of social history.
The weaknesses of these philosophe-historians stemmed from their preoccupations as philosophes. Following the ideals of the classics that dominated their minds, the philosophes sought to instruct as well as entertain. Their goal was to help civilize their age, and history could play a role by revealing its lessons according to their vision. Their emphasis on science and reason and their dislike of Christianity made them less than sympathetic to the period we call the Middle Ages. This is particularly noticeable in the other great masterpiece of eighteenth-century historiography, the six-volume Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1737– 1794). Although Gibbon thought that the decline of Rome had many causes, he portrayed the growth of Christianity as a major reason for Rome’s eventual collapse. Like some of the philosophes, Gibbon believed in the idea of progress and, in reflecting on the decline and fall of Rome, expressed his optimism about the future of European civilization and the ability of Europeans to avoid the fate of the Romans.
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FILM & HISTORY
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Amadeus (1984)
Directed by Milos Forman (who won the Academy Award for Best Director), Amadeus is a visually stunning Academy Award–winning film based on the relationship of two eighteenth-century composers, Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The movie is also the story of Mozart’s musical genius. Written by Peter Shaffer, the movie is based on Shaffer’s stage play of the same name.
A fictional account of the relationship between Salieri and Mozart, the story is told by Salieri to a priest through a series of flashbacks. Salieri (played by F. Murray Abraham, who won an Academy Award as Best Actor for his performance) was the court composer to Joseph II (Jeffrey Jones), the Austrian emperor, but he was also a man who dedicated his life to serving God through music. Salieri becomes insanely jealous of the young Mozart (Tom Hulce), who impresses everyone with his musical genius. Salieri, however, is dismayed by Mozart’s lewd, irreverent, and foolish behavior. In hearing Mozart’s music, he believes he is hearing the voice of God (“God is singing through this little man to all the world”), but he cannot fathom why God would speak through such a common person and comes to believe that God is laughing at Salieri’s own musical mediocrity through Mozart’s genius. As Mozart suffers through a series of trials and rejections by people who have little appreciation of his genius, Salieri plots the downfall of Amadeus (literally “God’s beloved”) as a way of defeating God. He secretly commissions Mozart to write a Requiem Mass, which he plans to pass off as his own work of genius after he has killed Mozart. As his financial worries increase, however, Mozart becomes increasingly weakened by drink and illness and dies before the Requiem is completed. Salieri now believes that God killed Mozart so that Salieri could not be recognized as a musical genius.
Mozart (Tom Hulce) meets with Salieri (F. Murray Abraham).
© Warner Bros./Courtesy Everett Collection
Amadeus is a brilliant film about brilliance—the musical genius of Mozart. While the movie is accurate in presenting Mozart as a child prodigy and a great composer who died at the young age of thirty-five,the story of the rivalry between Salieri and Mozart is mostly fictional. There was indeed some antipathy between these two composers who vied for royal commissions and teaching jobs. Nevertheless, there is also evidence that the two men respected each other, and there is certainly no evidence that Salieri was instrumental in bringing about Mozart’s downfall and death. Musical scholars also reject the view of Mozart as a giggling fool, subject to the outbursts of laughter that Tom Hulc
e used so effectively in his portrayal of Mozart. The film’s depiction of Mozart writing out perfect manuscripts of what he had already composed in his head is also questionable. Mozart himself said once, “People make a mistake who think that my art has come easily to me. Nobody has devoted so much time and thought to composition as I.” Despite the lack of historical accuracy, however, Amadeus beautifully conveys the genius of Mozart and gives viewers a sense of why he is regarded as one of the world’s greatest composers.
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The High Culture of the Eighteenth Century
Historians and cultural anthropologists have grown accustomed to distinguishing between a civilization’s high culture and its popular culture. High culture usually means the literary and artistic world of the educated and wealthy ruling classes; popular culture refers to the written and unwritten lore of the masses, most of which is passed down orally. By the eighteenth century, European high culture consisted of a learned world of theologians, scientists, philosophers, intellectuals, poets, and dramatists, for whom Latin remained a truly international language. Their work was supported by a wealthy and literate lay group, the most important of whom were the landed aristocracy and the wealthier upper classes in the cities.
A London Coffeehouse. Coffeehouses first appeared in Venice and Constantinople but quickly spread throughout Europe by the beginning of the eighteenth century. In addition to drinking coffee, patrons of coffeehouses could read magazines and newspapers, exchange ideas, play chess, smoke, and engage in business transactions. In this scene from a London coffeehouse of 1705, well-attired gentlemen make bids on commodities.
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