Hessian scratch plaster

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Hessian scratch plaster is the name for an artistic, decorative plastering technique that is mainly known in parts of Hesse and adjacent areas. It was used there for the pictorial design of the compartments of half-timbered houses . In 2016, the Hessian scratch plaster was included in the nationwide register of intangible cultural heritage .

Depiction of various scratch-plastering techniques and a half-timbered clay box in the Biedenkopf Castle Hinterland Museum

Technology and history

The Schartenhof in Biedenkopf- Eckelshausen, decorated with scratch plaster in 1875 and 1909 . The house dates from the 17th century.
House with a scratch-plastered gable end in Cölbe near Marburg

Originally, the infills of half-timbered buildings consisted of a network of thin wood, which was pelted on both sides with clay, to which a little straw was added to avoid cracks. In order to increase the impermeability to the weather, a layer of plaster 1.5 to 2 cm thick was applied. For scratch plaster, this plaster was scratched on with different tools and motifs incorporated. The depth doesn't matter, it's just a matter of creating a relief. At the edge, towards the surrounding wood, there is usually a smoothly painted and firmly pressed strip of plaster, which is supposed to increase the tightness towards the wood. From an artistic point of view, this runway can look like a frame.

A wide variety of tools were used for the production: scratching knives, but also stamps or nail boards. In a second step, the scratched out, deeper lying areas were painted with lime paint (today with silicate paint ). When they later switched to walling the compartments with bricks, a lime cement plaster was first applied, over which a second layer of plaster was drawn after it had set, in order to use it for the scratch plastering technique.

The technique is similar to sgraffito , but in contrast to this, the plaster used is not colored through, but paint is applied in a separate process. In addition, the upper layer of plaster is not necessarily completely pierced here, because it is not important to see the layer behind it.

There are preserved and dated examples of Hessian scratch plaster from the first half of the 18th century.

Imagery

The visual language of the Hessian scratch plaster is mostly ornamental, but there are also floral motifs or figures. Sometimes protection symbols are also shown. As a rule, the pictures in the compartments have no relation to one another, each compartment has its own individual picture. Only representations of the four seasons can be found here and there. Often the craftsman spontaneously decided on a motif on site, whereby the shape of the compartment played the decisive role in the selection. Sample books were not used - but the craftsmen who carried them out had their own style. There are a number of houses in the area where each compartment is covered with Hessian scratch plaster.

There are examples in which Hessian scratch plaster looks similar to a grisaille - if the color z. B. Gray was used.

Distribution area

Half-timbered houses decorated in this way can be found in Hesse mainly in the Schwalm , in the Marburger Land and in the Hessian hinterland , but also in Franconia and Thuringia . Numerous particularly beautiful examples can be found in today's Marburg-Biedenkopf district , u. a. in Dautphetal-Holzhausen .

About the term scratch plaster

In other parts of Germany, but also in Hesse itself, the term scratch plaster, in addition to the art form described here, also stands for normal, rough plastered surfaces without any artistic claim. Probably to avoid this double meaning, the UNESCO commission used the term Hessian scratch plaster .

Web links

Commons : Hessischer Kratzputz  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ German UNESCO Commission: Hessian scratch plaster , accessed on February 6, 2017