Abstract

Painting History in the Enlightenment French painting of Louis XV’s reign (1715–74), generally categorized by the term Rococo, has typically been understood as an artistic style aimed at furnishing courtly society with delightful images of its own frivolous pursuits. Instead, this presentation shows the significance and seriousness underpinning the notion of pleasure embedded in eighteenth-century history panting. During this time, pleasure became a moral ideal grounded not only in domestic life but also defining a range of social, political, and cultural transactions oriented toward transforming and improving society at large. The goal is to reconsider the role and significance of history painting in creating a new visual language that presented peace and happiness as an individual’s natural rights in the aftermath of Louis XIV’s bellicose reign (1643-1715).

Please contact dip.mkt@unibocconi.it if you wish to attend.