An enamel on copper portrait of August II of Saxony. - image-1
An enamel on copper portrait of August II of Saxony. - image-2
An enamel on copper portrait of August II of Saxony. - image-1An enamel on copper portrait of August II of Saxony. - image-2

Lot 1134 Dα

An enamel on copper portrait of August II of Saxony.

Auction 1056 - overview Cologne
13.11.2015, 14:30 - Porcelain, Ceramics, Furniture, Bronzes, Carpets
Estimate: 20.000 € - 25.000 €
Result: 24.800 € (incl. premium)

An enamel on copper portrait of August II of Saxony.

An enamel on copper portrait of August II of Saxony. The ornate frame of silver gilt, set with old-cut emeralds, river pearls and old-cut diamonds. Two stones replaced with glass, the surface of the enamel slightly porous, slight scratches to the lower half of the face and the right beside the head. H of plaque 28.6, W 23.4 cm. H frame 31.6, W 26.8 cm.
Dresden, after 1712, attributed to Georg Friedrich Dinglinger.

Georg Friedrich Dinglinger is considered the inventor of the large-format portrait in enamels. He earned this reputation for one of the most well known images of the Virgin of the 18th century - the large format immaculata today kept in the Green Vault in Dresden. He was first able to flawlessly fire a slightly convex copper plate of 90 cm in height and 68 cm in width in 1712. He proudly inscribed the back of the piece: "No I. Diß ist die allererste Probe meiner neu erfundenen Amolier Kunst ins Grosse". The experiment succeeded due to the generous use of colour in a reduced palette and balanced use of opaque counter enamel to the reverse. According to popular legend, this large panel was created as a result of a bet between Dingling and the miniaturist Ismael Mengs. Weinhold writes on the website of the Green Vault: "Nach Carl Heinrich von Heinecken (...) Mengs ein lebensgroßes Ölbild der leidenden Muttergottes des Hofmalers Adám Mányoki (1673 - 1757) in Email kopiert haben (soll), was den König veranlasst haben soll, Georg Friedrich Dinglinger mit der Herstellung einer lebensgroßen Emailkopie zu beauftragen - was ihm erst nach mehreren vergeblichen Versuchen glückte."

Provenance

Not included in the inventory of the Saxon Electoral Kunstkammer from 1741.
Private ownership, Czech Republic.