Lot 170 | Porcelain figurine of girl with a doll's pram

PORCELAIN FIGURINE OF GIRL WITH A DOLL'S PRAM.

Meissen.
Date: 1986.
Maker/Designer: Model K. Hentschel.
Technique: Porcelain, decorated with colour.
Measurement: Height 14cm.
Mark: Swordsmark, 73370.


Literature:
- Jedding, Hermann: Meißener Porzellan des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts 1800-1933. Munich 1981, p. 109f.
- Bröhan-Museum (ed.): Porzellan. Kunst und Design 1889 bis 1939. Vom Jugendstil zum Funktionalismus, Berlin 1996, comp. p.88f.
- www.meissen.com/de/meissencollectiondetail/hentschelkinder

Konrad Hentschel, born in 1872, is one of the most important artists of the Meissen Art Nouveau. He worked for the manufactory from 1897 onwards, and even before 1900 his service designs such as the Crocus Dejeuner were recieved with enthusiasm. He understood how to "harmoniously combine Art Nouveau shapes, décor, function and material-appropriate design". He also pursued this concept in his popular and enchanting children's figurines, which were designed from 1904 until his death in 1907 and are still in production today. The children, depicted in a snapshot of childlike naïve play, in subtle onglaze colours and simple design, transport the viewer to the seemingly ideal world at the turn of the century. Some of the so-called "Hentschel children" were originally created in connection with desk sets as decoration for the work table.
What is special about Hentschel's compositions, apart from the liveliness of the figurines, are the lovingly and individually depicted everyday scenes in which we are allowed to participate. We see a child playing with a dog or a doll, a boy engrossed in his picture book, a girl with a doll's pram or a boy drinking from an onion pattern cup. Common to all children is the simplicity of the design. Nevertheless, attention is paid to small details. The colouring gives Hentschel a little creative freedom, such as different versions of the little boy's picture book, or the newspaper folded into a hat, which is available in German and Danish versions.
With his realistic depictions of children, Konrad Hentschel manages to emphasise the characteristic traits of each individual child through facial expressions, colour design and smaller details, and "with their emotional impressiveness, aura and authenticity" to draw the viewer into the child's play.
"It is this intensity and naturalness that the Art Nouveau artist immortalises in porcelain - marking a turning point in Meissen small-scale sculpture at the beginning of the 20th century.".