Modern Criticism of Rococo Chinoiserie: Visual Narrative and Their Written Variations of Singerie

Abstract

Chinoiserie (“ 中国风”) began to appear in Europe in the 13th century, and gradually exerted more and more influence on its art and culture. By the 19th century, it had become an academic term, specifically refers to European art trends influenced by Chinese or more broadly Far Eastern culture. Rococo Chinoiserie (“ 洛可可式中国风”) is a representative art form during the peak period of the development of Chinese style. Singerie(“ 猴戏画”)is a typical representative of Rococo Chinese style. As a humorous painting theme, Singerie depicts the imitation of human activities by apes. It originated from Flemish painting in the 16th century. It became famous with the popularity of French court culture in Europe in the 18th century, and is regarded as an important type of painting in Rococo art. This pattern is a typical representative of “Rococo Chinese style”. It is the result of the convergence of developments in art history, iconography, and biology. However, this result,this creation is based on a voyeuristic visual narrative and a written variation of allegorical painting. This type of drawing constructs space, controls timing, and guides sight in a specific painting form. The realization of its value and function depends on the writing variation of the allegorical painting from “appearance-concept-picture” to “appearance-idea-picture”.