Framing Nature : Partying in the Rococo Garden

Sammanfattning

Antoine Watteau is known as the progenitor of the Fêtes Galantes in the early 18th century, predominantly depicting youthful members of the aristocracy socialising in lush parklands and gardenscapes. Although much research have been done on his work, this thesis presents an ecocritical analyses of his work. In relation to art history, ecocriticism has the ability to expose past human to more-than-human relationships against the backdrop of an increasingly artificial nature. In 18th century Europe, nature was referred to as a ‘she’ to be tamed and domesticated based on the societal standards of the time. Theoretically, I draw upon Theodor Adorno’s Aesthetic Theory originally published in 1970, Tim Ingold’s The Perception of the Environment (2000) as well as Donna Haraway and Judith Butler, together forming a framework largely based on dialectic oppositions, of which I have entitled ‘Aesthetic Growth Theory’. I explore three Fête Galante paintings The Love Lesson, Les Champs Élysées and Pèlerinage à l'île de Cythère of Antoine Watteau. Using this toolbox, looking at the composition, motifs and context, I dive into the materials used in the clothes worn by the characters, as well as the colours used for the paintings. Chronologically, the thesis aims to explore societal ideals regarding human-nature relationships in the early 1700’s, and how these ideals unfold and change throughout the century as industrialisation draws near. The nature settings of Watteau evoke a wide range of societal ideals, regarding nature, fashion, beauty and even class. Furthermore, the human interference in natural environments as shown in the three paintings through the presence of human infrastructure such as buildings and statues suggests a clear hierarchal relationship between human and nature. I ascertain that this divide is also mirrored in how nature is referred to as a ‘she’ which harkens to the patriarchal bounds of European feudalism.