From the Grotesque to the Exotic: The Evolution of Rococo Ornament in the Decorative Arts in France

The focus of this exhibition is to illustrate the evolution of rococo ornament in France across a wide range of the decorative arts. In so doing, the character of ornament and the rococo will also be revealed, illustrating the synthesis between the two at this time. The exhibition does this by examining four main sources of ornament characteristic of the rococo period; those of the grotesque, the figure, nature, and the exotic. Whilst the origin and subsequent development of each of these ornaments in the context of the rococo will be examined independently, the aim of the exhibition is to illustrate the interactions between the four. Influences on ornament outside the artistic spectrum will also be examined, such as the political and economic events of the time, and the changes in society and taste. Although there is always a certain mystery to the evolution of artistic creation, some parallels can be drawn between the realm of ornament and the world in which it lives. This is because ornament is constantly subject to change, reacting to current influences upon it. This exhibition sets out to illustrate why and how this is particularly true of the era of the rococo