Stoneware Decorative Jugs: L. Foltz Model And Its "Interpretations" In 1870-1880s (A Source Study Of The Item

Abstract

The study is devoted to the jug of the historicist style decorated with the drinking scenes (Merkelbach&Wick, 1880th) from the holdings of the Radishchev Art Museum. The jug was designed by L. Foltz (1809-1876). Author’s main purpose was to reveal the common and peculiar features of technical detail, design and imagery of this particular L. Foltz’s jug in comparison with other versions of the item.

The author comes to conclusion that the jug was made c. 1840 of brown stoneware by the free rotation method; the decoration patterns were imposed with matrixes. The Gothic décor elements are harmoniously combined with the Renaissance composition principles, including those of uniformity, harmony and symmetry. Using the potential of plaster cast, the artist applied an ornament more widely, changed some substantial details of the image, weakened a narrative component and increased the decorative effect. The artists didn’t just make a copy. Using the new technical means and responding to the new taste preferences, he offered an original version of his own design.