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PHILIPPINE CHARLOTTE, Princess of Prussia & Duchess of Brunswick. Antoine Pesne From "The Pages" |
ARTIST:
Antoine Pesne studied with his father, portrait painter Thomas Pesne, & great-uncle Charles de la Fosse, & was a pupil at the Académie Royale. He also studied in Venice, where he was friends with Jean Raoux. At the invitation of King Frederick I of Prussia, Pesne went to Berlin. There he established his reputation through portraiture, being made First Painter to the Court in 1711. In 1718 Pesne went to the court of Dresden, & in 1723, to London. The return in 1732 of Frederick’s son, Crown Prince Frederick, from exile changed Pesne’s career. He refurbished the seat at Schloss Rheinsburg, & went on to further decorative commissions at the now-King’s other residences. Aside from Pesne’s official productions he moved on to serious portraiture, mythic scenes, and genre (which sometimes recall Raoux). His youngest daughter, Henriette Pesne (1720-90) also became a painter.
SUBJECTS:
Philippine Charlotte was a sister of the Prussian ruler, Frederick the Great. She is shown in a rose dress embroidered in silver. The painting comes from the royal collection of the Royal Palace, Berlin. It was exhibited in the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1940. She is dressed in Paris fashion which all of Europ emulated. Versailles of Louis XIV was the ambition of rulers in architecture.
Princess Johanna Elisabeth was the mother of Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia.
PAINTING:
Obviously Pesne shows an exacting rendition of detail and texture. These paintings exemplify the style Pesne eventually devised to meet demand: pleasant, elegant portraits – but not necessarily highly original. He brought to Prussia th eFrench tradition of royal portraiture.
Historic Context:
The Roman trade routes for salt and amber met at Vienna and Cracow and enabled great wealth – but also became a crossroads of European art where Baltic, Atlantic, and Mediterranean cultures coalesced. Under the Hapsburg dynasty, The Holy Roman Empire strengthened the area. In the 17th and 18th centuries, conflict in the religious orientation of Catholic and Protestant created competition, which animated the visual arts.
The Thirty Years War dispersed native artists to Italy and the Netherlands, tempering the arts with the Northen naturalism of Rubens and Rembrandt. In 1620-30, Protestant artists from Germany and Bohemia went tot Italy, becoming Catholics. Liss revitalized Venetian painting by anticipating the sensual grace of Rococo beyond naturalism.
In Bohemia and Silesia artist’s allegiance was divided between Rome and Amsterdam, Austrians being later in comparison. A hundred years later (1720-30), Bohemia embraced the Baroque style, and sculptor Braun’s dramatic motion and emotion communicate humanity. The classicist Winkelmann influenced both painting and sculpture. In Austria, Maria Theresa (1740-80) introduced the Rococo decorative style to the court – but fashion oscillates between that and the Baroque. German, Bohemian, and Austrian artists create an indigenous late Baroque style, with eclectic allegiances to Italy and the Netherlands. Its major importance is the unification of painting, sculpture, and architecture, leading to total viewer involvement.