Rocaille

thumb|right|250px|Commode decoration by Charles Cressent (1745–1749), Metropolitan Museum Rocaille ( , ) was a French style of elaborate design that appeared in furniture and interior decoration during the early reign of Louis XV. A reaction against the heaviness and formality of the Louis XIV style, it featured an abundance of curves, counter-curves, undulations, and elements modeled on nature. Beginning around 1710, it reached its peak in the 1730s, and came to an end in the late 1750s when it was replaced by Neoclassicism. It marked the beginning of the French Baroque movement in furniture and design, as well as the beginning of the Rococo movement, which had spread to Italy, Bavaria, and Austria by the mid-18th century.

==Overview== Rocaille was exuberant and inspired by nature like Rococo, but, unlike Rococo, it was usually symmetrical and not overloaded with decoration. It took its name from the mixture of rock, seashell and plaster that was used to create a picturesque effect in grottos during the Renaissance, and from the name of a seashell-shaped ornament which was frequent feature of Rocaille decoration. In 1736, the designer and jeweler Jean Mondon published the Premier Livre: De forme Rocquaille et Cartel, a collection of designs for ornaments of furniture and interior decoration. It was the first appearance in print of the term rocaille to designate the style.