Chinoiserie

Chinoiserie

Chinoiserie, derived from the French word Chinois, meaning “Chinese" is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic traditions, especially in the decorative arts, garden design, architecture, literature, theater, and musical performances. First appearing in the 17th century, this trend was popularized in the 18th century due to the rise in trade with China and East Asia. Chinoiserie pictorial art is characterized by asymmetry, an emphasis on the decorative, and a rejection of Renaissance illusionism. It offered an alternative to the Classical-revival and Baroque styles that were popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. Whimsical and light in subject matter and appearance, chinoiserie, similar to the Rococo style, provided an option for anyone who wanted to reject the more rigid classicist notions that were prominent.

Chinoiserie is sometimes considered as "feminine." Prevailing wisdom suggested that part of the appeal that chinoiserie held for women was that it could be appreciated by the "untutored eye." The understanding of its aesthetics did not require an education in philosophy or the classics. Chinoiserie decoration was more frequently confined to the private spaces of a house, for example bedrooms and dressing rooms. These spaces were more associated with women than the more public areas of reception rooms, dining rooms or libraries which were considered the territory of men or mixed company.

Chinoiserie was not universally popular. Some members of society saw the style as "…a retreat from reason and taste and a descent into a morally ambiguous world based on hedonism, sensation and values perceived to be feminine." It was viewed as lacking the logic and reason upon which Antique art had been founded. Architect and author Robert Morris claimed that it "…consisted of mere whims and chimera, without rules or order, it requires no fertility of genius to put into execution.” Those with a more archaeological view of the East, considered the chinoiserie style, with its distortions and whimsical approach, to be a mockery of the actual Chinese art and architecture.Finally, still others believed that an interest in Chinoiserie indicated a pervading "cultural confusion" in European society.