Age of Enlightenment and How It Affected Art - Essay Example

The age of enlightenment was a cultural movement of various intellectuals during the 18th century in Europe. It sought to mobilize peoples’ reasoning power with an aim of reforming the society and advancing knowledge. The knowledge and advancement promoted science and intellectual interchanges but opposed superstitions and other non-beneficial cultural practices in Europe. One of the several scientific fields that developed during the error was art. There is a diversity and quantity of artistic works during the enlightenment age.

One of the work of art was painting. Painting revolved during this time following the emergence of Rococo art that replaced the then popular baroque art. It was mainly concerned with the emphasis on airy grace and refined pleasures of boudoir and the salon, porcelain and delicate jewelries, artful dances, wooded scenes and women, especially women in the nude (Millan 196). Moreover, rococo painters specialized in other areas like portraiture, displaying aristocratic subjects in their finery, beautified and idealized on their canvas.

An example of a rococo painting was that of Watteau Antoine (1684-1721) that blended a lot of fantasy with heightened observations of nature. The painting conveyed and portrayed the ease, as well as, the lavishness of French court life. Watteau was succeeded in the painting job by several other Europeans. Jean Fragonard and Francois Boucher were his French successors (Millan 195). There were also Italian painters like Giovanni Tiepolo who also displaying rococo influences. There were some paintings, mainly from England, which lacked rococo frivolity.

However, most English painters were influenced by the style; among them were Thomas Gainsborough and Reynolds Joshua. One of the current examples of early painting is the London Street scenes done by one of the English painters, William Hogarth. Another one is Francisco Goya's court portraits existing in Spain. In conclusion, art, as part of science, developed during the enlightenment age. It was facilitated by individuals and the societies which knew the importance artistic works. The enlightenment therefore, was the sole reason for the immense development of artistic works.

Work CitedMillam, Jennifer. Historical Dictionary of Rococo Art. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press,2011.Print.