ROCOCO AND

NEOCLASSICAL

Architecture

Capitol Building in D.C.Neoclassical

Benedictine Abbey, Ottobeuren, BavariaRococo

Rococo1715-1789

Rococo style is defined by its over the top ornamentation with intricate designs, both on the exterior and interior of buildings.

Johann Baltasar NeumannResidenz at Wurzburg, 1722

Rococo style was derived in Paris and comes from the word “rocaille” meaning: fancy rock or shell work.

Rococo mainly focused on the interior and displayed fancy plasterwork of flowers, cherubs and other intricate and delicate designs.

Rococo architecture was more interior design than pure architecture.

Rococo Architects

Germain Boffrand Jahan Baltazar Neumann

The ballroom of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo

Neoclassical1750-1850

Neoclassical architecture is the rebirth of the Greek and Roman styles. The most outstanding feature of the style is the use of columns.

The neoclassical designs got rid of all the over the top ornamentation of the rococo period.

They replaced the plaster foliage, cherubs and other loud designs with more simplistic interior designs. That featured clean symmetrical geometric shapes.

In the New America the neoclassical style took hold and is still seen today in our monuments and other historical buildings.

Neoclassical Architects

James Gibbs Thomas Jefferson Jacques-Germain Soufflot