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拍品专文
During the reign of Emperor Alexander II (1855-1881), vases were not produced in such great numbers as they had been during the reign of Emperor Nicholas I (1825-1855). In the 1860s, vases were being produced primarily as exhibition pieces at international expositions and at All-Russian exhibitions (A. Odom, Russian Porcelain at Hillwood, Washington, DC, 1999, p. 83). Many of these vases were decorated, as they were during the period of Nicholas I, with copies of Old Master or nineteenth-century paintings. Consistent with the European predilection for using academic paintings as porcelain design sources, the middle section of the vases was treated by Imperial Porcelain Factory artists as a canvas on which to showcase their work after important paintings. The paintings were typically scaled-down, faithful copies of originals in the Hermitage, the Academy of Arts or from collections in the Imperial Palaces in the vicinity of St Petersburg. The names of both the original artist and factory artist were usually added to the vase paintings.
The present vases are painted after original works by the seventeenth century Dutch genre painters Jacob Ochtervelt (1634-1682) and Gerard ter Borch (1617-1681). Both original works by the artists were in the collection of the Hermitage at the time the vases were manufactured by the Imperial Porcelain Factory and were copied by painters from the factory.
The Messenger, painted by ter Borch, is recorded by Andrei Somov, curator of the Imperial Hermitage, in his catalogue of the collection (A. Somov, Imperial Hermitage. Catalogue of the painting gallery. [Imperatorskii Ermitazh. Katalog kartinnoi galerei.], St Petersburg, 1902, vol. II, p. 503, no. 872). The Messenger was originally part of the collection of Dutch Old Master and Flemish School works belonging to Saxon Count Heinrich von Brühl of Dresden, which Empress Catherine II purchased en bloc in 1769. The painting remains in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum to this day.
The Singer, painted by Ochtervelt, is also recorded by Somov (As Pevets, A. Somov, op. cit., p. 352, no. 891). An alternative title for the work is The Serenade (S. Donahue Kuretsky, The Paintings of Jacob Ochtervelt (1634-1682), Montclair, USA, 1979, p. 78, no. 59 and p. 146, fig. 58.). The painting was purchased for 1,500 roubles in 1826 and acquired from the collection of Prince M.A. Miloradovich. By 1930, it was with van Diemen and Benedict in Berlin and has since passed through several private collections. Its current whereabouts are unknown. The reproduction on the present porcelain vase is one of the only surviving records of the original painting.
Andrei Kirsanov and Vasilii Midin were both well-known painters at the Imperial Porcelain Factory during the middle of the nineteenth century. Kirsanov came from a family of factory workmen and studied at the factory school. He specialised in painting figures, historical and genre scenes and received gold and silver medals for his service. Midin entered the Imperial Factory School in 1845 and studied at the Academy of Arts from 1852-1857. He specialised in painting figures. Midin was appointed a master in 1864 and worked at the factory through the 1880s (T.V. Kudryavtseva, Russian Imperial Porcelain, St Petersburg, 2003, pp. 254 and 259).
The date of production of the present vases most likely spans the end of the reign of Nicholas I and the beginning of the reign of Alexander II. For pairs of the same form, see Christie's, London, 29 November 2006, lots 21 and 40. A similar porcelain vase by the Imperial Porcelain Factory, fired in 1853 and decorated in the 1860s, is in the collection of the Hillwood Museum, Washington, DC. Decorated with gilt strapwork on a grey ground, the front of the vase is painted with The Herring Seller, after the Dutch seventeenth century painter Gerrit Dou (A. Odom, op. cit., pp. 83-84, fig. 65).
The present vases are painted after original works by the seventeenth century Dutch genre painters Jacob Ochtervelt (1634-1682) and Gerard ter Borch (1617-1681). Both original works by the artists were in the collection of the Hermitage at the time the vases were manufactured by the Imperial Porcelain Factory and were copied by painters from the factory.
The Messenger, painted by ter Borch, is recorded by Andrei Somov, curator of the Imperial Hermitage, in his catalogue of the collection (A. Somov, Imperial Hermitage. Catalogue of the painting gallery. [Imperatorskii Ermitazh. Katalog kartinnoi galerei.], St Petersburg, 1902, vol. II, p. 503, no. 872). The Messenger was originally part of the collection of Dutch Old Master and Flemish School works belonging to Saxon Count Heinrich von Brühl of Dresden, which Empress Catherine II purchased en bloc in 1769. The painting remains in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum to this day.
The Singer, painted by Ochtervelt, is also recorded by Somov (As Pevets, A. Somov, op. cit., p. 352, no. 891). An alternative title for the work is The Serenade (S. Donahue Kuretsky, The Paintings of Jacob Ochtervelt (1634-1682), Montclair, USA, 1979, p. 78, no. 59 and p. 146, fig. 58.). The painting was purchased for 1,500 roubles in 1826 and acquired from the collection of Prince M.A. Miloradovich. By 1930, it was with van Diemen and Benedict in Berlin and has since passed through several private collections. Its current whereabouts are unknown. The reproduction on the present porcelain vase is one of the only surviving records of the original painting.
Andrei Kirsanov and Vasilii Midin were both well-known painters at the Imperial Porcelain Factory during the middle of the nineteenth century. Kirsanov came from a family of factory workmen and studied at the factory school. He specialised in painting figures, historical and genre scenes and received gold and silver medals for his service. Midin entered the Imperial Factory School in 1845 and studied at the Academy of Arts from 1852-1857. He specialised in painting figures. Midin was appointed a master in 1864 and worked at the factory through the 1880s (T.V. Kudryavtseva, Russian Imperial Porcelain, St Petersburg, 2003, pp. 254 and 259).
The date of production of the present vases most likely spans the end of the reign of Nicholas I and the beginning of the reign of Alexander II. For pairs of the same form, see Christie's, London, 29 November 2006, lots 21 and 40. A similar porcelain vase by the Imperial Porcelain Factory, fired in 1853 and decorated in the 1860s, is in the collection of the Hillwood Museum, Washington, DC. Decorated with gilt strapwork on a grey ground, the front of the vase is painted with The Herring Seller, after the Dutch seventeenth century painter Gerrit Dou (A. Odom, op. cit., pp. 83-84, fig. 65).