The galant style was an 18th-century movement in music, visual arts and literature. In Germany a closely related style was called the ''
empfindsamer Stil'' (sensitive style). Another close relative is
rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
style. The galant style was drawn in opposition to the strictures of the
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...
style, emphasizing light elegance in place of the Baroque's dignified seriousness and high grandeur.
Music
In music, the galant emphasis was on simplicity, immediacy of appeal, and elegance.
Fashion
In fashion, galant featured perfumed
handkerchiefs and
powdered wigs for both sexes.
The fantastic exotic asymmetry of
bizarre silk
Bizarre silks are a style of figured silk fabrics popular in Europe in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Bizarre silks are characterized by large-scale, asymmetrical patterns featuring geometrical shapes and stylized leaves and flowers, inf ...
patterns were symptomatic of galant tastes.
References
External links
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18th century in art
18th-century literature
18th century in music