Which artistic movement was considered frivolous and purely decorative by critics of the time?

The Rococo, sometimes considered a final phase of the Baroque period.

Characterized by elegant and refined yet playful subject matters, Boucher’s style became the epitome of the court of Louis XV. His style consisted of delicate colors and gentle forms painted within a frivolous subject matter. His works typically utilized delightful and decorative designs to illustrate graceful stories with Arcadian shepherds, goddesses and cupids playing against a pink and blue sky. These works mirrored the frolicsome, artificial and ornamented decadence of the French aristocracy of the time.