In medicine, John Hunter (1728–1793) made a decisive breakthrough in the treatment of gunshot wounds, so that affected parts of the body no longer had to be immediately and extremely painfully amputated. The patient still had to be held down by a row of strong men and provided with copious amounts of alcohol, but the number of injured men condemned to live out their lives on a pension, receiving charity or alms, decreased considerably.

      Icarus’s dream of flight became a reality for the first time with the invention of the hot air balloon in 1783. Constructed from a lined, linen cover by the brothers Joseph-Michel (1740–1810) and Jacques-Étienne Montgolfier (1745–1799), the first hot air balloon flew over two kilometres at a height of about 2000 metres and then landed in a field. Simultaneously, Jacques Charles (1746–1823) developed his gas balloon, which set off from the Champs de Mars near Paris and landed in a field near today’s Charles de Gaulle Airport, whereupon the farm hands working there, utterly nonplussed, set upon it with pitch forks. In conclusion, the 18th century was shaped by genius, war and invention.

      Art

      With regard to the works of architecture and sculpture, as the concepts of the Baroque period range from 1600 to 1720, the word “Rococo” was introduced to discuss the years between 1720 and about 1780. The term “Rococo” perhaps comes from the word rocaille (“mussel”), which emerged in French emigrant circles. This was followed by a transitional period from around the end of the 18th century, as a kind of counter-movement towards the greater simplicity of neoclassicism.

      Of course this arrangement is not entirely appropriate. since throughout the 17th century there had already been a turn towards classicism, particularly in architecture. The distinctions made are therefore, like the use of the term “Renaissance” for northern European painting of the 15th and of the first half of the 16th century, not always valid and thus do not always apply universally.

      Particularly in the Netherlands, painting was the absolute antithesis of what the inventors of the name Baroque understood by it. They considered the works of architecture and sculpture created since the end of the 16th century in Italy and their presence in some countries north of the Alps as a group detached from the High Renaissance. Within works such as these, they found features which indicated a deviation from the rules of the classical age and a pointless, arbitrary exaggeration of the fullness of form.

      The term Baroque, invented to characterise this art, at the same time contained an unfavourable criticism of the artistic endeavours throughout the 17th century. Even after the movement, the term Baroque had a negative connotation and was used in the art world to describe all that was despicable and reprehensible. In the 17th century, art lacked deep roots in the broad population. Thus it remained elitist, a courtly art which was accessible only to the nobility and the sophisticated members of society. As a result of the logic of the age, the art at the end of the 18th century collapsed and was swept away by the storms of revolution.

      Not until much later, around the end of the 19th century, was the conceptual confusion of the 17th century revisited with a fresh perspective and assessment of the historical developments and a better overview of the socio-political situation. There had already been exaggeration even to the point of tastelessness prior to and during the 17th century, but simply no more so than in earlier periods of world history. Generally speaking, so-called Baroque art was in all spheres merely a reflection of the spirit of the age.

      The age of Baroque predominantly coincided with the reign of Louis XIV. Afterwards, in the Regency (Régence) and the first half of the reign of Louis XV (1710–1774), the hitherto strong, powerful forms changed into light, playful and gracefully sinuous lines, bringing to the fore the ornate, mussel-like forms. Asymmetry was raised to the status of law. In interior decoration, all deep shadows and strong colours were avoided; in addition to an abundance of gold, light colours were most popular.

      Only the return to the straight and narrow, which was at the same time associated with a stronger inclination towards classical forms and nature, led art into the era that saw the days of Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764) and the reign of Louis XVI (1754–1793): the age of Early Classicism, also known as the Pigtail Style or Rococo.

      It has become the absolute norm to label these artistic expressions as purely decorative. The characteristic features of ornamentation were not rediscovered in architecture. Although painting and decorative art are both rooted in cultural history, when examined from an artistic standpoint, they have totally different origins. Architecture in particular developed quite differently in some countries, so that here the term Rococo coincides in terms neither of space nor time or style with the artistic life of the first half of the 18th century.

      Taking all this into consideration, there is still a variety of interpretations of the art of the 18th century. The artistic scene expanded; France retained its predominance yet spread in new directions. For the artists of Europe, Italy remained the academic centre in which they completed their foundation and training, while Spain and the Netherlands changed places with England and Germany, who moved slightly forward and attempted to make up for lost ground.

      In the sphere of painting, pastels gained ground, proving to be especially effective in capturing the dainty charms of Rococo women. In addition, however, in the representation of works of art, the technique changed. Gradually the use of woodcut disappeared; the copper plate engraving and the etching were thus complemented by the scraped leaves of “Black Art”. This technique, invented as early as 1640 by Ludwig von Siegen, a Hessian officer, was a process by which the light areas could be made from scraping the roughened copper substratum. This technique was then taken up in the 18th century by the English and further developed.

      Jean-Baptiste Greuze, The Village Bride, 1761.

      Oil on canvas, 92 × 117 cm.

      Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Inspiration, c. 1769.

      Oil on canvas, 80 × 64 cm.

      Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      Jean-Siméon Chardin, Child with Top, 1738.

      Oil on canvas, 67 × 76 cm.

      Musée du Louvre, Paris.

      Jean-Marc

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