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Limoges Enamel in the Hermitage Collection On 11 October 2005 an exhibition of works of Limoges painted enamel from the Hermitage collection opened in the Blue Bedroom of the Winter Palace. Works dating from the 15th century include icons, triptychs and panels with religious subjects. The exhibits from the 16th century also consist of works from secular life such as dishes, plates, sauce bowls and mirrors. Limoges was famous for its pitted enamels on copper (émail champlevé) as early as the Middle Ages. At the end of the 15th century, the Limoges master artisans reconsidered this type of decoration. In the early stages of producing painted enamels, the masters followed medieval traditions and turned out works on religious subjects. Gradually, as the Renaissance gathered strength, there appeared both mythological and secular subjects. By the middle of the 16th century they were producing plates, bowls, ladles and salt-cellars in porcelain. Because of their fragility, these objects were used to decorate interiors and attested to the wealth of their owners. Etchings by German, Italian and French artists were widely used as the models for painted enamels. Vignettes by Bernard Salomon with illustrations of Biblical stories were among the most popular for enamel masters. Bernard Salomon’s vignettes were used as the basis for the dish showing The Prophet Elijah and the bowl Joseph and the Wife of Potiphar. The etchings of Italian artist Marcantonio Raimondi also were frequently taken as the source for decoration of objects of applied art. Thus, the Madonna at the Cradle was used for enamel painting of a panel, while the Abduction of Helen was used to decorate the lid of a bowl. Engravings by Albrecht Durer and Lucas van Leyden were favored for portraying the Passions of Christ. Scenes from the story of Psyche were taken from the works of the Master of the Playing Ivory. Often the enamel masters only partially reproduced compositions from etchings, taking separate elements or figures. Works by most of the enamel masters from the late 15th - 16th centuries are represented in the Hermitage collection. The names of the masters of the earlier works are not known, as a rule. Beginning in the middle of the 16th century, the enamels often were signed by their creators. A whole series of names emerges: Colin Noillier, Pierre Raimond, Pierre Courtais. Other masters only put their initials on the works, and today these cannot be deciphered. Among the monograms we find are IC, IP and KIP. In the 17th century many family members of Limousin, Loden and Noillier continued the traditions of the preceding century. In the Hermitage there are more than 150 pieces of Limoges painted enamel. The first pieces appeared in the Hermitage before the middle of the 19th century and at some point decorated the Treasure Gallery of the Winter Palace. However, the core of the collection consists of works bought by Emperor Alexander III from the collector A.P. Bazilevsky in Paris in 1884. After 1917 the Hermitage received artifacts from the nationalized private collections and disbanded museums. The works displayed in the exhibition as well as exhibits shown in the rooms of French art allow the visitor to fully appreciate the merits of the Hermitage collection of painted Limoges enamel. The State Hermitage Publishing House has issued a scholarly catalogue
for the exhibition. The catalogue’s author and the curator of the exhibition
is Tamara V. Rappe, deputy director of the Department of History of Western
European Art and doctor of art history. |
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Copyright © 2006 State Hermitage Museum |
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