Rococo

After the death of Louis XIV forms grew lighter: curved legs, asymmetrical shells and comfortable furniture for salons rather than audience halls.

The Rococo grew up in Paris when the nobility moved back from Versailles to their town houses. Rooms became smaller, and furniture was meant to be comfortable and easy to move. New types appeared: the bergère, a deep armchair with upholstered sides, the commode with a curved front, the secretaire and the small writing table for ladies.

The ornament rocaille – an asymmetrical form recalling shells, rocks and water – gave the style its name. Ornament designers such as Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier drew silver and interiors in which almost no straight line remained. The colours were light: white, gold, pastel blue and pink.

Porcelain became the Rococo's favourite material. Meissen, Sèvres and the new factories in Germany and Sweden made services and figures, and Chinese motifs became fashionable – chinoiserie. In England the cabinetmaker Thomas Chippendale published a pattern book in 1754 with furniture in the French, Gothic and Chinese taste.

• Rococo
• Rococo
• Rococo