Ancient Germany
including German-born artists
See also : Renaissance Manuscript Religious texts Judaica Madonna and Child Terracotta to porcelain Meissen George I to III Cats
Chronology : 14th century 1520-1529 1530-1539 1540-1569 1620-1629
See also : Renaissance Manuscript Religious texts Judaica Madonna and Child Terracotta to porcelain Meissen George I to III Cats
Chronology : 14th century 1520-1529 1530-1539 1540-1569 1620-1629
1188 The Gospels of Henry the Lion
1983 SOLD for £ 8.1M including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
The princes want to deserve and earn the eternal life. Henry the Lion, of the Welf dynasty, was one of the most powerful. Accumulating several legacies, he was Duke of Bavaria and of Saxony and his territory extended from the Baltic Sea to the Alps. His capital was in Brunswick (Braunschweig) and he founded, among others, Munich and Lübeck. He was stripped of his titles in 1180 for refusing to second the emperor Frederick Barbarossa.
Henry was a benefactor of Brunswick Cathedral, which he had built from 1173 and where he is buried. His gospel book is a very luxurious manuscript prepared for the consecration of the altar of the Virgin Mary in 1188 in that cathedral.
This book is a codex of 266 sheets of parchment 34 x 25 cm, including 50 full-page illustrations as well as historiated initials. It shows in a logical sequence the career of the duke protected by Christ and the saints, including for example his wedding and his coronation. Phylactery explanations complement the images, making it possible to identify the highly important imperial and ducal characters of his family.
The work was prepared at the Benedictine Abbey in Helmarshausen and the scribe identified his name. The script is a modified Caroline minuscule that anticipates the Gothic. The illustrations in bright colors are composed on the principle of the rejection of blank (horror vacui) while keeping a great readability. The image shared by Wikimedia gives the example of a page.
This masterpiece of the Romanesque illumination has remained intact. It was sold on December 6, 1983 by Sotheby's for £ 8.1M including premium, an all-categories record at that time for an artwork at auction. Considered in Germany as a national treasure, it was bought at that sale by a consortium including the government, the provinces of Lower Saxony and Bavaria and public and private donors.
Henry was a benefactor of Brunswick Cathedral, which he had built from 1173 and where he is buried. His gospel book is a very luxurious manuscript prepared for the consecration of the altar of the Virgin Mary in 1188 in that cathedral.
This book is a codex of 266 sheets of parchment 34 x 25 cm, including 50 full-page illustrations as well as historiated initials. It shows in a logical sequence the career of the duke protected by Christ and the saints, including for example his wedding and his coronation. Phylactery explanations complement the images, making it possible to identify the highly important imperial and ducal characters of his family.
The work was prepared at the Benedictine Abbey in Helmarshausen and the scribe identified his name. The script is a modified Caroline minuscule that anticipates the Gothic. The illustrations in bright colors are composed on the principle of the rejection of blank (horror vacui) while keeping a great readability. The image shared by Wikimedia gives the example of a page.
This masterpiece of the Romanesque illumination has remained intact. It was sold on December 6, 1983 by Sotheby's for £ 8.1M including premium, an all-categories record at that time for an artwork at auction. Considered in Germany as a national treasure, it was bought at that sale by a consortium including the government, the provinces of Lower Saxony and Bavaria and public and private donors.
around 1300 Western Ashkenazic Mahzor
2021 SOLD for $ 8.3M by Sotheby's
The so called Luzzatto High Holiday Mahzor is a medieval Hebrew book gathering traditional prayers and hymns for the use of the Western Ashkenazic community during the holy festivals of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
This thick book of 451 equalized folios 31 x 24 cm was prepared in parchment in current day Bavaria by a scribe artist who identified himself as 'Abraham' in several places. It is highly rare that such a manuscript was illustrated by a Jew at a time when the best pigments were not provided to them by the Christian illuminators.
No date is inscribed. Its terminus post quem is determined as 1264 CE after a paleographic comparison with Ashkenazic codices. The terminus ante quem is slightly after 1300 CE by the use of a lead point, a precursor to the graphite pencil.
It is illustrated with multiple small figures in bright colors featuring praying Jews. A few of them have animal heads for complying with an Ashkenazic prohibition of portrait images.
It was later cleanly annotated in margins with additional prayers by its owners, providing a unique view of the rituals subsequently in Franconia, Alsace, Constance, Northern Italy and France. As an example it includes from Constance a prayer against the anti-Jewish violence during the Black Death.
The Luzzatto Mahzor is in an exceptionally fine condition. It was sold for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Sotheby's on October 19, 2021, lot 1. The Alliance Israélite Universelle is selling it to fund its educational mission. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
This thick book of 451 equalized folios 31 x 24 cm was prepared in parchment in current day Bavaria by a scribe artist who identified himself as 'Abraham' in several places. It is highly rare that such a manuscript was illustrated by a Jew at a time when the best pigments were not provided to them by the Christian illuminators.
No date is inscribed. Its terminus post quem is determined as 1264 CE after a paleographic comparison with Ashkenazic codices. The terminus ante quem is slightly after 1300 CE by the use of a lead point, a precursor to the graphite pencil.
It is illustrated with multiple small figures in bright colors featuring praying Jews. A few of them have animal heads for complying with an Ashkenazic prohibition of portrait images.
It was later cleanly annotated in margins with additional prayers by its owners, providing a unique view of the rituals subsequently in Franconia, Alsace, Constance, Northern Italy and France. As an example it includes from Constance a prayer against the anti-Jewish violence during the Black Death.
The Luzzatto Mahzor is in an exceptionally fine condition. It was sold for $ 8.3M from a lower estimate of $ 4M by Sotheby's on October 19, 2021, lot 1. The Alliance Israélite Universelle is selling it to fund its educational mission. Please watch the video shared by the auction house.
Medieval Hebrew prayer book expected to fetch up to $6m at auction https://t.co/kM1Y5OECDY
— Guardian culture (@guardianculture) September 2, 2021
1350 Gothic Realism
2019 SOLD for € 6.2M including premium
Prince Wenceslas, heir to the kingdom of Bohemia and godson of King Charles IV of France, is in Paris from 1323 to 1330. It is the time of the first great Parisian illuminator, Jean Pucelle. Back in Prague, Wenceslas frequently exercises the regency for his father the King Knight John the Blind, to whom he succeeds in 1346 as Charles IV. He will be the first prince of the Luxemburg dynasty to become emperor, in 1355.
In the West the Hundred Years War breaks out in 1337. This international conflict aggravated by the risk of schism between Avignon and Rome is a very good opportunity for Charles IV to make Prague one of the most important cities in Europe, seat of an archdiocese from 1344.
Charles first rebuilds the cathedral. In the year 1348 altogether, he creates the first Germanic university in Prague, launches a major urban plan to modernize his capital and has the imperial castle of Karlstein built for his personal use.
This activity attracts artists from all over Europe. Most remained anonymous, with the exception of Master Theodoric who is the appointed painter of Charles IV throughout his reign. An important group of paintings made by this master for the Karlstein chapel has been preserved.
The paintings on wood from the reign of Charles IV are often made in very small formats, with an obvious search for humanism in the princely portraits and in the spontaneity of the attitudes. The minutia of the line shows that these painters were also illuminators.
An egg tempera 22 x 20 cm on wood 14 mm thick has just surfaced. This enthroned Madonna and Child is in the style of Bohemia, small and precious. The Child is dressed in a light tunic. His actions are innocent. The fingers of one hand grip his foot while the other hand gently holds the thumb of the mother. Their gazes communicate.
This scene is currently surrounded by a black paint dotted with paper stars, probably made in the nineteenth century. An X-ray inspection revealed that the original design was a vast architectural pattern in line with the ostentatious aims of Charles IV's art.
The experts recognized a similarity in the refinement of this painting with the restricted corpus of an anonymous artist designated as the Master of Vissy Brod, active in Bohemia around 1350.
It is estimated € 400K for sale by Cortot in Dijon on November 30, lot 52. Please watch the video shared by Artcento.
In the West the Hundred Years War breaks out in 1337. This international conflict aggravated by the risk of schism between Avignon and Rome is a very good opportunity for Charles IV to make Prague one of the most important cities in Europe, seat of an archdiocese from 1344.
Charles first rebuilds the cathedral. In the year 1348 altogether, he creates the first Germanic university in Prague, launches a major urban plan to modernize his capital and has the imperial castle of Karlstein built for his personal use.
This activity attracts artists from all over Europe. Most remained anonymous, with the exception of Master Theodoric who is the appointed painter of Charles IV throughout his reign. An important group of paintings made by this master for the Karlstein chapel has been preserved.
The paintings on wood from the reign of Charles IV are often made in very small formats, with an obvious search for humanism in the princely portraits and in the spontaneity of the attitudes. The minutia of the line shows that these painters were also illuminators.
An egg tempera 22 x 20 cm on wood 14 mm thick has just surfaced. This enthroned Madonna and Child is in the style of Bohemia, small and precious. The Child is dressed in a light tunic. His actions are innocent. The fingers of one hand grip his foot while the other hand gently holds the thumb of the mother. Their gazes communicate.
This scene is currently surrounded by a black paint dotted with paper stars, probably made in the nineteenth century. An X-ray inspection revealed that the original design was a vast architectural pattern in line with the ostentatious aims of Charles IV's art.
The experts recognized a similarity in the refinement of this painting with the restricted corpus of an anonymous artist designated as the Master of Vissy Brod, active in Bohemia around 1350.
It is estimated € 400K for sale by Cortot in Dijon on November 30, lot 52. Please watch the video shared by Artcento.
1527 Portrait of Sibylle of Cleves by Cranach
2008 SOLD for $ 7.7M including premium by Christie's
narrated in 2020
The reigning dynasties of Germany position themselves in relation to Luther's new faith. The Elector Friedrich III of Saxony managed to maintain equality between the parties. His brother Johann, who succeeded him in 1525, promoted Lutheranism to the rank of state church. Duke Johann III of Cleves annexed by his marriage the duchies of Jülich and Berg. He was a protector of Erasmus.
A marriage seals the alliance between these two dynasties. The engagement was celebrated in September 1526. Johann Friedrich, 23, the eldest son of the elector of Saxony, was one of Luther's most ardent supporters. Sibylle, 14, is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Cleves. The marriage took place in June 1527.
Cranach has been a court painter for the Saxon Electors in Wittenberg since 1504. Much linked to Luther, he was in 1525 the godfather of his first child.
Two portraits by Cranach of Sibylle during the engagement phase are known. She wears the crown of virgins which guarantees her virtue until her marriage. She is standing in three quarter length, her hands gently joined on the waist. The face is still juvenile. The 57 x 39 cm painting kept at Weimar Castle is dated 1526.
The other painting is an oil on panel 53 x 38 cm. The lively gaze and the smile display a better presence. The symbols of the two families are woven within the dress. It is signed by the serpent, used by Cranach instead of a monogram for his official paintings.
The portrait of Sibylle of Cleves was sold for $ 7.7M including premium by Christie's on April 15, 2008, lot 12. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
A marriage seals the alliance between these two dynasties. The engagement was celebrated in September 1526. Johann Friedrich, 23, the eldest son of the elector of Saxony, was one of Luther's most ardent supporters. Sibylle, 14, is the eldest daughter of the Duke of Cleves. The marriage took place in June 1527.
Cranach has been a court painter for the Saxon Electors in Wittenberg since 1504. Much linked to Luther, he was in 1525 the godfather of his first child.
Two portraits by Cranach of Sibylle during the engagement phase are known. She wears the crown of virgins which guarantees her virtue until her marriage. She is standing in three quarter length, her hands gently joined on the waist. The face is still juvenile. The 57 x 39 cm painting kept at Weimar Castle is dated 1526.
The other painting is an oil on panel 53 x 38 cm. The lively gaze and the smile display a better presence. The symbols of the two families are woven within the dress. It is signed by the serpent, used by Cranach instead of a monogram for his official paintings.
The portrait of Sibylle of Cleves was sold for $ 7.7M including premium by Christie's on April 15, 2008, lot 12. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
later 1520s The Ordeal of the Lion
2015 SOLD for £ 9.3M including premium
Lucas Cranach the Elder enjoyed all topics related to morality, not without humor. On July 8 in London, Sotheby's sells a Bocca della Verita painted at the end of the 1520s. This oil on panel in large size, 111 x 100 cm, is estimated £ 6M, lot 8.
The artist transposes a medieval ordeal with characters in clothes of his time. The mouth of truth is a lie detecting test to convict or release the adulteress. Included in the legends of Tristan and Iseult and Merlin, this story was previously used by illustrators including Altdorfer and Lucas van Leyden.
Each character has a role. The woman puts a hand in the mouth of the lion raised on a pedestal to be at her level. She is held at the waist by her supposed lover disguised as a fool. Two men wait to establish the minutes of justice.
The alleged cuckolded husband is on the far right of the picture, opposite to the lion. He is accompanied by two lovely ladies who are his witnesses. At his side, a last character sends a wink of complicity towards the viewer of the painting.
This is not a comic book and the verdict of the lion is not known. The lack of fear in the attitude of the woman tells that she wants to win the ordeal. The scene becomes a funny symbol of feminine cunning.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's :
The artist transposes a medieval ordeal with characters in clothes of his time. The mouth of truth is a lie detecting test to convict or release the adulteress. Included in the legends of Tristan and Iseult and Merlin, this story was previously used by illustrators including Altdorfer and Lucas van Leyden.
Each character has a role. The woman puts a hand in the mouth of the lion raised on a pedestal to be at her level. She is held at the waist by her supposed lover disguised as a fool. Two men wait to establish the minutes of justice.
The alleged cuckolded husband is on the far right of the picture, opposite to the lion. He is accompanied by two lovely ladies who are his witnesses. At his side, a last character sends a wink of complicity towards the viewer of the painting.
This is not a comic book and the verdict of the lion is not known. The lack of fear in the attitude of the woman tells that she wants to win the ordeal. The scene becomes a funny symbol of feminine cunning.
I invite you to watch the video shared by Sotheby's :
1532 The Elector of the Reformation
2018 SOLD for $ 7.7M including premium
Lucas Cranach becomes in 1504 a painter at the court of Saxony in Wittenberg. He will be until his death 49 years later a devoted collaborator of three successive Electors, ultimately joining the displacement to Weimar of the court of the last of them. He made many portraits of the electoral family without abandoning his other themes.
The first of his three Saxon patrons, Friedrich the Wise, is famous for his tolerance concerning Luther. Cranach is enthusiastic about the Reformation and then becomes a close friend of Luther.
The family events of the Saxon court are celebrated with half-length portraits in resplendent attire. In 1525 Friedrich is succeeded by his brother Johann who intensifies his pro-Lutheran policy. In the following year he manages the engagement of his son and heir Johann-Friedrich with Sibylle of Cleves. The wedding takes place in 1527. Cranach's portrait of the then 15-year-old princess was sold for $ 7.7M including premium by Christie's on April 15, 2008.
Johann-Friedrich succeeds Johann in 1532 and confirms his commitment to the Reformation. He commissions Cranach and his workshop for a large quantity of posthumous portraits of his two predecessors to serve as diplomatic gifts.
On April 19 in New York, Christie's sells a portrait of Johann-Friedrich, oil on panel 63 x 40 cm, lot 7 estimated $ 1M. The painting is neither dated nor signed and an underdrawing reveals that some details of the face were modified for perfecting the likeness or the dignity. It is probably a modello painted by the master after the accession to power of the new Elector to prepare the realization of copies by the workshop.
This artwork disappeared during the Nazi persecutions. It has just resurfaced and was restituted to the spoiled family with the support of Christie's.
Please watch the video shared by auction house (full video below the video tweet, including a portrait of Alessandro Farnese by another artist). POST SALE COMMENT : the Farnese portrait was sold for $ 2.6M including premium.
The first of his three Saxon patrons, Friedrich the Wise, is famous for his tolerance concerning Luther. Cranach is enthusiastic about the Reformation and then becomes a close friend of Luther.
The family events of the Saxon court are celebrated with half-length portraits in resplendent attire. In 1525 Friedrich is succeeded by his brother Johann who intensifies his pro-Lutheran policy. In the following year he manages the engagement of his son and heir Johann-Friedrich with Sibylle of Cleves. The wedding takes place in 1527. Cranach's portrait of the then 15-year-old princess was sold for $ 7.7M including premium by Christie's on April 15, 2008.
Johann-Friedrich succeeds Johann in 1532 and confirms his commitment to the Reformation. He commissions Cranach and his workshop for a large quantity of posthumous portraits of his two predecessors to serve as diplomatic gifts.
On April 19 in New York, Christie's sells a portrait of Johann-Friedrich, oil on panel 63 x 40 cm, lot 7 estimated $ 1M. The painting is neither dated nor signed and an underdrawing reveals that some details of the face were modified for perfecting the likeness or the dignity. It is probably a modello painted by the master after the accession to power of the new Elector to prepare the realization of copies by the workshop.
This artwork disappeared during the Nazi persecutions. It has just resurfaced and was restituted to the spoiled family with the support of Christie's.
Please watch the video shared by auction house (full video below the video tweet, including a portrait of Alessandro Farnese by another artist). POST SALE COMMENT : the Farnese portrait was sold for $ 2.6M including premium.
Dressed to impress: this opulent portrait by Lucas Cranach the Elder depicts John Frederick I, the final Elector of Saxony, in the most stylish clothes of the decade.https://t.co/nrSbZ9wZbG pic.twitter.com/Gzoh1FTVRC
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) April 15, 2018
1545 The Painter and the Burger
2010 SOLD 5.6 M£ including premium
Christie's presents for sale on July 6 in London a beautiful German portrait of the sixteenth century, in good condition, estimated £ 5 million.
The artist, Georg Pencz, was known at Nuremberg as the best pupil of Dürer. At that time the German art was imbued with the Italian influence. Pencz is also (and mostly) famous as a printmaker. The painting is signed with his monogram.
The model, Sigismund Baldinger, is a typical member of the commercial bourgeoisie. Based in Nuremberg where he joined the council, he worked for a merchant family of Augsburg.
In 1545, Baldinger was 35 years old. He is a bearded man with short hair, well dressed, very modern-looking. Solid and confident, he gazes with authority and courtesy. If he believes that this artwork forwards the image of his glory to his descendants, he is right. He will be knighted soon after and this oil on panel, 135 x 118 cm, will remain in his family for nearly four centuries.
POST SALE COMMENT
This portrait of a civilian is altogether rare, large size and of high quality. It is not easy to find an auction history for this pupil of Dürer. The market understood: £ 5.6 million including premium.
The artist, Georg Pencz, was known at Nuremberg as the best pupil of Dürer. At that time the German art was imbued with the Italian influence. Pencz is also (and mostly) famous as a printmaker. The painting is signed with his monogram.
The model, Sigismund Baldinger, is a typical member of the commercial bourgeoisie. Based in Nuremberg where he joined the council, he worked for a merchant family of Augsburg.
In 1545, Baldinger was 35 years old. He is a bearded man with short hair, well dressed, very modern-looking. Solid and confident, he gazes with authority and courtesy. If he believes that this artwork forwards the image of his glory to his descendants, he is right. He will be knighted soon after and this oil on panel, 135 x 118 cm, will remain in his family for nearly four centuries.
POST SALE COMMENT
This portrait of a civilian is altogether rare, large size and of high quality. It is not easy to find an auction history for this pupil of Dürer. The market understood: £ 5.6 million including premium.
early 1620s The Baroque Synthesis of Johann Liss
2019 SOLD for £ 5.7M including premium
Johann Liss was born in Oldenburg near Lübeck. The artistic tradition was almost nonexistent in Holstein. Ready to capture all the new trends, the young man begins his journey circa 1615. In Haarlem he is appealed by the eroticism of Goltzius. Later he will be nicknamed Pan. Around 1618, just over 20 years old, he incorporates the style and some themes from Rubens and Jordaens.
Like so many others including the Caravagesques of Utrecht, he arrives in Italy. He shares his time between Rome and Venice. He will not finish this classic learning tour : he dies in Verona in the epidemic of plague that started in Venice in 1629.
Sandrart, who knew him very well in Venice in 1629, reminded his predilection for this city where they appreciate the expressive colors of Titian and Veronese. He also narrated the impulsive creativity of Liss, able to seek inspiration for several days before rushing to do a new work without taking time to eat and sleep. This immutable cycle ends with a wandering during which he empties his purse we do not know where.
St. Mary Magdalene between Vice and Virtue is a theme borrowed from Jordaens. The semi-nude woman in ecstasy has chosen the nice young Angel who brings her the palm of repentance. She holds a skull, the usual symbol of vanity, and ignores the old woman who is presenting the treasures of the Orient.
This work was composed in the early 1620s. The contrasting lighting, bright on the Good and nonexistent on the Evil, is Caravagesque. The Venetian influence, by which one expects the luxury of the clothes and the shock of the colors, is obvious but not yet dominant.
Two identical oils on canvas exist. Both can be autograph. One of them, 114 x 135 cm, is kept in the Dresden Museum. The other, 99 x 126 cm, surfaced more recently. It was sold for £ 1M including premium by Christie's on December 9, 1994 and is estimated £ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 3, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's where it is compared with a small painting by Wtewael.
Like so many others including the Caravagesques of Utrecht, he arrives in Italy. He shares his time between Rome and Venice. He will not finish this classic learning tour : he dies in Verona in the epidemic of plague that started in Venice in 1629.
Sandrart, who knew him very well in Venice in 1629, reminded his predilection for this city where they appreciate the expressive colors of Titian and Veronese. He also narrated the impulsive creativity of Liss, able to seek inspiration for several days before rushing to do a new work without taking time to eat and sleep. This immutable cycle ends with a wandering during which he empties his purse we do not know where.
St. Mary Magdalene between Vice and Virtue is a theme borrowed from Jordaens. The semi-nude woman in ecstasy has chosen the nice young Angel who brings her the palm of repentance. She holds a skull, the usual symbol of vanity, and ignores the old woman who is presenting the treasures of the Orient.
This work was composed in the early 1620s. The contrasting lighting, bright on the Good and nonexistent on the Evil, is Caravagesque. The Venetian influence, by which one expects the luxury of the clothes and the shock of the colors, is obvious but not yet dominant.
Two identical oils on canvas exist. Both can be autograph. One of them, 114 x 135 cm, is kept in the Dresden Museum. The other, 99 x 126 cm, surfaced more recently. It was sold for £ 1M including premium by Christie's on December 9, 1994 and is estimated £ 4M for sale by Sotheby's in London on July 3, lot 8. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's where it is compared with a small painting by Wtewael.
#AuctionUpdate One of the finest examples of the Johann Liss’ work to remain in private hands, this captivating portrayal of Mary Magdalene choosing Salvation over Temptation sets a new artist record at £5,665,200. #SothebysOldMasters pic.twitter.com/y5ULAr506W
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) July 3, 2019
1732 Meissen Menagerie
2005 SOLD for € 5.6M by Christie's
The originality of Meissen lies in the realization of real sculptures in the round, in the opposite to the Chinese porcelain that has a utilitarian purpose and a geometrical shape.
Animal metaphors are in the fashion. Augustus commissions a porcelain menagerie in which the smaller animals would be life-size, the birds often in groups of four or eight. Entire rooms will have to be devoted to their exhibition in his Japanisches Palais in Dresden. Meissen artists begin to prepare hundreds of subjects.
The menagerie of porcelains prepared for Augustus is the most spectacular achievement of the early Meissen. It is part of a larger project of Porzellanschloss centered on a porcelain throne, conceived in 1728. The Elector was maintaining in the taste of his time a menagerie of live animals that served as models for the Meissen artists. His active and enthusiastic participation in the biggest animal tossing contests nevertheless disqualifies him as a friend of the beasts.
The modeller Johann Gottlieb Kirchner produced original clay statues of birds and other small animals in life size. He was assisted from June 1731 by Johann Joachim Kändler.
This new technique is particularly difficult for large figures. Glaze cannot be applied by dipping. The final heating at 1400 °C creates shrinkages and cracks. The enamel coloring poorly adheres to that porcelain and was removed a few decades later while most of the pieces were still at the factory.
A pair of figures featuring a heron in white Meissen porcelain, respectively 62 and 75 cm high, was sold for € 5.6M from a lower estimate of € 2.5M by Christie's on June 22, 2005, lot 119. This pair remained in the Saxon Royal family until the 1850s and resurfaced after 150 years.
One of the birds is catching a frog in its beak on the rocky ground. Its companion has a raised head. The background is a stump surrounded by reeds. They match the models 51 and 52 in the nomenclature of the Meissen menagerie.
A record in the Meissen archives for 1732 attributes the herons to Kändler. They are indeed in his typical style, based on a lively observation of nature.
Animal metaphors are in the fashion. Augustus commissions a porcelain menagerie in which the smaller animals would be life-size, the birds often in groups of four or eight. Entire rooms will have to be devoted to their exhibition in his Japanisches Palais in Dresden. Meissen artists begin to prepare hundreds of subjects.
The menagerie of porcelains prepared for Augustus is the most spectacular achievement of the early Meissen. It is part of a larger project of Porzellanschloss centered on a porcelain throne, conceived in 1728. The Elector was maintaining in the taste of his time a menagerie of live animals that served as models for the Meissen artists. His active and enthusiastic participation in the biggest animal tossing contests nevertheless disqualifies him as a friend of the beasts.
The modeller Johann Gottlieb Kirchner produced original clay statues of birds and other small animals in life size. He was assisted from June 1731 by Johann Joachim Kändler.
This new technique is particularly difficult for large figures. Glaze cannot be applied by dipping. The final heating at 1400 °C creates shrinkages and cracks. The enamel coloring poorly adheres to that porcelain and was removed a few decades later while most of the pieces were still at the factory.
A pair of figures featuring a heron in white Meissen porcelain, respectively 62 and 75 cm high, was sold for € 5.6M from a lower estimate of € 2.5M by Christie's on June 22, 2005, lot 119. This pair remained in the Saxon Royal family until the 1850s and resurfaced after 150 years.
One of the birds is catching a frog in its beak on the rocky ground. Its companion has a raised head. The background is a stump surrounded by reeds. They match the models 51 and 52 in the nomenclature of the Meissen menagerie.
A record in the Meissen archives for 1732 attributes the herons to Kändler. They are indeed in his typical style, based on a lively observation of nature.
1762 Conversation with Garrick
2011 SOLD 6.8 M£ including premium
Two centuries after Shakespeare, one century after Molière, the dominant figure of the theater was David Garrick. That illustrious actor was also known to manage his own career, and reached in his time a considerable fame and high social rank. He was however not knighted.
In 1754, Garrick bought a luxurious villa on the banks of the Thames in Hampton. He had built by Robert Adam a temple to Shakespeare in neo-Greek style. This building is now a museum dedicated to Garrick.
At that time in England, the fashion in painting is the conversation piece. Influenced by the Dutch genre scenes, this style shows the sponsor of the painting surrounded by family and friends. The faces are clearly identifiable, and attitudes are active and friendly.
Garrick was introduced to all the great English painters of his time. Yet in 1762, he entrusted to a young German artist recently arrived in England the task of executing a pair of conversation pieces in Hampton. After this first success, Johann Zoffany became the best painter in this theme.
This pair of oils on canvas, 100 x 125 cm each, is estimated £ 6M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on December 7.
One of them, showing the afternoon tea on the lawn along the river, is illustrated in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity. The other, showing Mr. and Mrs. Garrick in front of Shakespeare temple, is illustrated in the Wikipedia.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot apparently atypical was in fact quite representative of the art of its time. The sale could be considered difficult, but it is successful: £ 6.8 million including premium.
Here is the Wikipedia image :
In 1754, Garrick bought a luxurious villa on the banks of the Thames in Hampton. He had built by Robert Adam a temple to Shakespeare in neo-Greek style. This building is now a museum dedicated to Garrick.
At that time in England, the fashion in painting is the conversation piece. Influenced by the Dutch genre scenes, this style shows the sponsor of the painting surrounded by family and friends. The faces are clearly identifiable, and attitudes are active and friendly.
Garrick was introduced to all the great English painters of his time. Yet in 1762, he entrusted to a young German artist recently arrived in England the task of executing a pair of conversation pieces in Hampton. After this first success, Johann Zoffany became the best painter in this theme.
This pair of oils on canvas, 100 x 125 cm each, is estimated £ 6M, for sale by Sotheby's in London on December 7.
One of them, showing the afternoon tea on the lawn along the river, is illustrated in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity. The other, showing Mr. and Mrs. Garrick in front of Shakespeare temple, is illustrated in the Wikipedia.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot apparently atypical was in fact quite representative of the art of its time. The sale could be considered difficult, but it is successful: £ 6.8 million including premium.
Here is the Wikipedia image :
