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 Empfindsamkeit ( en, sentimental style) or Empfindsamer Stil is a style of musical composition and poetry developed in 18th-century Germany, intended to express "true and natural" feelings, and featuring sudden contrasts of mood. It was developed ...

'' (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 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

handkerchief A handkerchief (; also called a hankie or, historically, a handkercher or a ) is a form of a kerchief or bandanna, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric which can be carried in the pocket or handbag for personal hygiene purposes such as ...

s and powdered wigs for both sexes. The fantastic exotic asymmetry of

bizarre silk Bizarre silks are a style of figured silk textile, fabrics popular in Europe in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Bizarre silks are characterized by large-scale, asymmetry, asymmetrical patterns featuring geometrical shapes and stylized leav ...

patterns were symptomatic of galant tastes.

References

External links

{{wiktionary-inline 18th century in art 18th-century literature 18th century in music