13 October | Rococo!

Every Tuesday, I have been tagging along with the students to their Art History class. Today we went to the Wallace Collection, an art gallery that was previously the private residence of the Marquesses of Hertford (not sure who they were. All I know is that they were rich). They were a family of art collectors, and eventually the house and collection were left to England to be used as a museum. When we walked in, Linda Bolton (the art history professor—wonderful. She is tall and willowy, has a perfectly proper British accent, and can talk about a painting for a half an hour as we all listen, mesmerized by her storytelling) stopped us and drew our attention to the grand staircase ascending from the foyer. I couldn’t help but imagine myself in a gown descending the stairs during a magnificent gala, the crystal chandelier sparkling overhead, my hand resting lightly on the marble banister. This mansion could be the setting for the opening scene of a James Bond movie—right before they discover a body in an upstairs bathroom or a man escapes through a dark window.

Even when compared to the beauty of Windsor Castle, I thought the Wallace gallery was much more breathtaking. Each room’s wallpaper and curtains was a different color, so the atmosphere seemed to change when walking room to room.

Notice the change of the colors from room to room: 

red, blue, pink, then green at the end. 

And I finally got to see what the term “rococo” means: decadent, gilded, flamboyant. It’s hard not to love it, despite myself. I feel guilty admitting that I just wanted to squeal with delight as I walked into this oval room. Linda described rococo as “having champagne in your bubble bath, and then stepping out onto a deep fluffy carpet and powdering yourself with a big fluffy pouf.” Love it.

I did keep finding myself more interested in the building itself rather than the works of art inside—this is an art gallery after all, and there are plenty of famous paintings inside. But my imagination kept stealing me away to think about what it must have been like to live here, in such sumptuous surroundings, over one hundred fifty years ago.