Miniature porcelain picture "A Lady Pouring Chocolate" (c. 1744), framed
Miniature porcelain picture "A Lady Pouring Chocolate" (c. 1744), framed
Quick info
miniature picture on porcelain | handmade | passe-partout | solid wood frame | size 9.7 x 10.8 cm
Detailed description
Miniature porcelain picture "A Lady Pouring Chocolate" (c. 1744), framed
For centuries, miniature pictures made of fine porcelain were produced mostly for aristocratic collectors. This miniature painting bears a museum masterpiece that is transferred by hand onto genuine Thuringian porcelain, fired twice and mounted on a pastel-coloured passe-partout. Afterwards, the shiny gold edge is applied by hand with a metal leaf. The valuable overall picture is rounded off by a solid wood frame that has been primed and sanded several times. Size 9.7 x 10.8 cm. Original: Oil on canvas, British Museum, London.
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Epochal term for the art of the 17th century. The Baroque style of art, which originated in Rome around 1600, permeated visual arts, literature and music practically all over Europe within a very short period of time and lasted until 1770 in the visual arts. The last phase is generally characterised by Rococo.
Characteristic features include: the pulsating movement of all forms, the abolition of boundaries between architecture, painting and sculpture, that resulted in the epoch typical "Gesamtkunstwerk" ("total work of art"), and especially the purposeful use of light, which became an important artistic component. The subordination of the individual parts to the whole resulted in the creation of a unified and, at the same time, dynamic space, which is fully expressed in the magnificent buildings of this period.
The Baroque art, with its penchant for grandeur, splendour and rushing abundance, clearly reflects the desire for representation, which was a concern of secular and ecclesiastical, especially the Catholic, patrons of the time, who were strengthened by the Counter-Reformation. In painting, characteristic features of the Baroque, are manifested in the altar and ceiling painting, history and portrait.
Typical representatives include artists such as Anthony van Dyck, Peter Paul Rubens as well as Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the field of sculpture.
Ceramic product made of kaolin, quartz and feldspar.
Porcelain is formed by turning or pressing and figurative objects are cast. Complex objects have to be cast in separated steps and sections and then "assembled". After the moulding, the pieces are dried and "annealed" at about 900 °C. Next, the glaze will be applied and fired at temperatures between 1,240 °C and 1,445 °C. In renowned manufactures, the porcelain is painted by hand whereby each colour has to be fired individually and in compliance with narrow temperature tolerances.
Porcelain was invented in China and became widespread in Europe from the 16th century onwards. The first European porcelain factory was founded in Meissen, Germany in 1710.
Other famous European porcelain factories include Fürstenberg, Höchst, Schwarzburger Werkstätten, Lladró, Nymphenburg, KPM, Augarten, Sèvres, Limoges, Royal Copenhagen, Worcester. Individual factories label their products with their personal porcelain stamps so that for the collecter it is easy to identify their origin.