Art lover, Tsar Alexander I is sorry for the decay of the imperial porcelain factory of St. Petersburg, one of the oldest in Europe, created by the Empress Elizabeth in 1744.
His very effective head of cabinet the Count Guryev is commissioned for restoring to this production a prestige worthy of the emperor. He hires skilled technicians and artists from Berlin and Sèvres. Painter on porcelain in Sèvres from 1802 to 1813, Swebach is in Saint Petersburg from 1815 to 1817.
The activity of the factory during the reign of Alexander is dominated by the plates decorated in a neoclassical style. The collections of its museum include a small gilt porcelain vase 57 cm high painted in enamel by Swebach with a hunting scene copying an oil picture from the imperial collection. This piece already has the shape with ovoid body and two added handles and the type of decoration that will make the greatest fame of the monumental presentation porcelains during the next reign.
The technological development of this production line is attributable to the reign of Alexander. When he dies in autumn 1825 the factory realizes a vase to pay tribute to him, with his profile on one side and the word Russia inside a globe on the other side. This 2 m high piece of porcelain was an unprecedented technical feat throughout Europe.
On June 5 in London, Sotheby's sells a pair of vases 1.37 m high with handles, lot 414 estimated £ 1M. Each vase is decorated with a landscape signed by a painter of the factory, respectively Kornilov and Stoletov, and dated 1825.
The original pictures in the style of Karl von Kügelgen have not been identified. 1825 is certainly the date of the porcelain painting. They do not carry an imperial monogram and must be positioned at the end of the reign of Alexander. The access to power by Nicholas I was close to trigger a civil war and an operation of prestige for this new Tsar appears indeed as unthinkable at that date.
His very effective head of cabinet the Count Guryev is commissioned for restoring to this production a prestige worthy of the emperor. He hires skilled technicians and artists from Berlin and Sèvres. Painter on porcelain in Sèvres from 1802 to 1813, Swebach is in Saint Petersburg from 1815 to 1817.
The activity of the factory during the reign of Alexander is dominated by the plates decorated in a neoclassical style. The collections of its museum include a small gilt porcelain vase 57 cm high painted in enamel by Swebach with a hunting scene copying an oil picture from the imperial collection. This piece already has the shape with ovoid body and two added handles and the type of decoration that will make the greatest fame of the monumental presentation porcelains during the next reign.
The technological development of this production line is attributable to the reign of Alexander. When he dies in autumn 1825 the factory realizes a vase to pay tribute to him, with his profile on one side and the word Russia inside a globe on the other side. This 2 m high piece of porcelain was an unprecedented technical feat throughout Europe.
On June 5 in London, Sotheby's sells a pair of vases 1.37 m high with handles, lot 414 estimated £ 1M. Each vase is decorated with a landscape signed by a painter of the factory, respectively Kornilov and Stoletov, and dated 1825.
The original pictures in the style of Karl von Kügelgen have not been identified. 1825 is certainly the date of the porcelain painting. They do not carry an imperial monogram and must be positioned at the end of the reign of Alexander. The access to power by Nicholas I was close to trigger a civil war and an operation of prestige for this new Tsar appears indeed as unthinkable at that date.
RSS Feed
