France held a leading position in the fine arts of the 18th century. With the death of the Sun King and the end of absolutism, a clear change in the taste of French patrons could be distinguished, as they began to demand a less grandiose style. It was also the birth of Rococo for sculpture, a light, playful variation on the Baroque style, ideally suited to interior decoration. Working with the master builder Germain Boffrand (1667-1754), who in 1724 also worked on the Residenz in Wurzburg, a team of artists created the décor in the Chambre de Parade de la Princesse in the Hôtel de Soubise in Paris, in harmony with the new feeling for elaborate asymmetries of flowers, fruits, garlands and rockery, which have a finer, less luxuriant effect than the elements of the Baroque style.
A kind of epicentre for art, which Paris was for France, was lacking in Germany where, particularly at this time, unfavourable general conditions prevailed. German sculpture, which flourished so joyously at the beginning of the 16th century, was by the end of the same century in a state of neglect. The Germans were not able to adapt so quickly to the changed demands which were made of art. Accustomed to giving in their works the expression of profound sensitivity or a certain religious atmosphere, it was difficult for them to find their way into this secularised art form which aimed at ostentation and outward appearances, so they had to stand and watch as the Italians and the Dutch were summoned to carry out the commissions.
In these years, the establishment of porcelain factories had almost turned into a courtly sport. As early as 1718, a porcelain factory was created in Vienna which was followed in 1740 by one in Hochst, and in 1750 others opened in Berlin and Furstenberg. Then, in quick succession, the factories in Baden, Frankenthal and Nymphenburg, each with its own speciality, jockeyed for position with the factory in Meissen. Especially famous were the filigree miniatures from Meissen and from the Nymphenburg porcelain factory. Artists such as Balthasar Permoser and Johann Melchior Dinglinger (1664-1731) made pieces for the treasury of the Saxon Prince Elector Augustus the Strong.