Miniatures from the Rococo Period
Catalogue of Miniatures from the Rococo Period in the Tansey Collection, 2008
The Tansey Collection foundation’s fourth catalogue examines the as yet little known portrait miniatures of the Rococo period. They are represented in colour reproductions of original size and are individually described. Amplified by well-founded essays, a general overview emerges, which up to now no publication has yielded.
The volume is published to accompany the current exhibition which shows rococo miniature painting as an extremely fascinating art by its unique character and its high refinement. For the first time now numerous works of high quality of this epoch in outstanding colour illustrations and in their original size can be compared against each other. The portrait miniature of the Rococo period is an elegant staged production, in which gracefulness and delicacy dominate.
Individual features come second to the representation of a beautiful ideal, come second to prestigious clothes and theatrical scenery. Some portraits contain a hidden message for the miniature’s addressee. The ladies’ portraits abound in coquetry; fans, masks and veils are sophisticatedly used to disguise and expose. Here ladies show themselves in the midst of real or imagined luxury, whereas there they escape into a fictive world, masquerading as shepherdesses, touring minstrels or goddesses. Quite a few of the represented persons are members of ruling houses. Thus a fascinating panorama of individuals is formed, individuals who have influenced and determined European history in a more or less incisive way. The spectator is invited to become impressed and ensnared by these pictures and by these fantastically staged performances.
Text: German
428 Pages, 180 colour plates, 47 illustrations in colour and 6 in black and white.
23 x 29.5 cm, linen
Recommended price 15,00 EUR
(for orders from the Bomann-Museum,
plus shipping costs)
ISBN : 978-3-7774-4335-5
2008, Hirmer Verlag GmbH, Munich
Essays:
Bernardo Falconi: Rosalba Carriera (1673-1757) and Miniature Painting on Ivory
Bernd Pappe: Miniature Painters in Berlin at the Time of Frederick the Great
Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard: Jean-Baptiste Massé (1687-1767). An Example of Perfection in the Art of Miniature Painting
Vincent Lieber: The Miniaturist Jean-Baptiste Massé (1687-1767) and his Family. Identification of Fourteen Portraits over Five Generations
Kathrin Umbach: Simply Divine! The Presentation of Ancient Mythology in Miniatures from the Tansey Collection
Picture Descriptions: Bernd Pappe, Juliane Schmieglitz-Otten
Technical Information: Bernd Pappe
Chief Editors: Juliane Schmieglitz-Otten, Bernd Pappe
Photography: Birgitt Schmedding
Digital Image Processing: Birgitt Schmedding, Alexander Weber