Hessian scratch plaster
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 .
Technology and history
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
- The Photo Archive Photo Marburg has a large number of historical photos of (Hessian) scratch plaster ready: Picture index - search for "scratch plaster"
- Deutsche Handwerkszeitung from January 18, 2017: Scratch plaster becomes a cultural heritage , accessed on February 6, 2017
- Michael Seeger in Lokalo24 from December 20, 2016; Hessian scratch plaster is intangible cultural heritage , accessed on February 6, 2017
- Rainer shear bands, Gerwin Stein (German Center for Crafts and Preservation - Propstei Johannesberg eGmbH) Fulda 2015: Kratzputz in Hesse (film, 14'35 examples interview with the former Hauptkonservatorin of. State Office for Monument Preservation Hesse , Katharina Thiersch, demonstration of Technology by Mr. Donges sen.)
Individual evidence
- ^ German UNESCO Commission: Hessian scratch plaster , accessed on February 6, 2017