House painter
As a house painter is called working in Germany in the first half of the 18th century porcelain painters who were not bound by a fixed contract to manufacture but independent conducted in our own workshop commissions. Some also painted glass and faience .
Working method
The artist himself was responsible for procuring the material. He obtained unpainted or temporarily painted tableware from manufactories, carried out the painting or reworking of some of the existing decors as well as the muffle fire himself and supplied individual clients or dealers on his own account.
Often these artists were familiar with several branches of craft. For example, Johann Schaper and Abraham Helmhack from Nuremberg and Ignaz Preissler from Breslau were both glass painters and known for the technique of black solder painting. Bartholomäus Seuter (1678–1754) from Augsburg was also a copper engraver and model cutter, goldsmith and silk dyer.
Artists and their work
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In the early days of the porcelain factories, they often worked with the house painters. The best house painters in Augsburg, such as the brothers Abraham and Bartholomäus Seuter and Johannes Aufenwerth, received commissions for the porcelain manufacturer August the Strong in Meißen , where they became particularly known for their fine chinoiserie.
The procurement of the material was time-consuming and expensive. Only the best artists could therefore afford this way of working and sign in their own name. Profitable work was hardly possible without the help of a financially strong client. Ignaz Preissler's longtime sponsor, for example, was Count Franz Karl Liebsteinsky von Kolowrat in Kronstadt / Eastern Bohemia, on whose estate the artist maintained his workshop.
For the Viennese porcelain manufactory worked u. a. the Breslau house painters Ignaz Bottengruber and Karl Ferdinand von Wolfsburg , who also accepted commissions for Meißen. Scenes from ancient mythology are typical of them.
Occasionally, the manufacturers also sold second-rate unpainted porcelain to in-house painters, who skillfully painted over the imperfections and sold them for their own account. To prevent this, it was forbidden in other porcelain factories to sell unpainted goods.
Shadow existence and the end of house painters
With the increasing perfection of porcelain painting in the manufactories, the house painters were seen as unpleasant competition. Some manufacturers also refused the house painters the delivery of unpainted goods, which anyway mostly consisted of rejects (so-called “brackets”). Around the middle of the 18th century, most porcelain painters preferred to tie themselves to a safe and efficient manufacture. In Germany alone there were around 80 of their kind up to 1900. Those who did not make great art had a hard time with their reputation. Those who remained independent were defamed as "corner painter" and "botch painter" (French "Chambrelan").
literature
- Hertha Wellensiek: Antiques in the picture. A guide for collectors and enthusiasts. Keyser, Munich 1969.
- Lexicon of Art , Leipzig 1971, Volume 2, p. 227.
