Princess 2005 / 2011

Breakable Treasures Perfectly Staged

Historical porcelain is a desired collector’s object at antique fairs worldwide. The secret to their production was hidden by the Chinese for hundreds of years and fine porcelain wasn’t produced in Europe until 1708. Its mastery began with the Rococo Period and it is still considered a rarity until today. The painter Andreas Amrhein artistically restored filigree porcelain art and gave the figures the staring role in his images. He is a virtuosic, nostalgic border-crosser.

The object of his painterly desire began with the traditional porcelain manufacturer Meißen, but also includes Hutschenreuther and Rosenthal. Andreas Amrhein successfully stages loving scenes “for the big performance” with figures such as the diabolical Mephisto. His perfectly painted highlights create a shining porcelain surface, eliciting a wonderful style and ease.

Rather than feeling preserved or static, his paintings characterize moments of astonishing movement, with true-to-detail portraits of figures such as an elegant rider in sidesaddle effortlessly containing her rearing horse. Her special materiality is astonishing, realistically bringing her into the foreground of a finely painted background.

The animal figures are especially fascinating, despite their filigree silhouettes: A delightful crane impressively stands on thin legs in a picturesque landscape scenery.

Amrhein challenges the viewer’s preconceptions: instead of sitting dusty and nostalgic in a display case or decorated on lace doilies, his porcelain seems courageous and elegant. He enlarges the miniature figures to objects of size and substance. A proud stag appeals through his lively pose, embedded in a panoramic landscape in front of a finely painted alpine scene: an imposing appearance.

His series is a humorous homage to the tradition of porcelain collecting, the history on which the painter became an expert. He has worked intensively on the topic since 2006 and the multiplicity of figures by different manufactures remains inexhaustible until today, whether it be historical personalities or characteristic fabled animals.

Christina Wendenburg