Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Lyotard considered one of the most mysterious painters XVIII century. Legends about his travels and adventures have come down to our days no less than exciting stories about his paintings. most famous work Lyotard is undoubtedly "Chocolate Girl". Associated with this picture interesting legend: according to the testimony of the artist's contemporaries, here he portrayed a waitress who married the prince, to whom she once served chocolate in a cafe. But about the character and moral character This person has very conflicting evidence ...
In Lyotard's painting "Chocolate Girl" we see a modest girl who humbly lowered her eyes, probably in front of a visitor to a coffee shop, to whom she is in a hurry to serve hot chocolate. According to one version, which for a long time was generally accepted, the artist depicted in this picture Anna Baltauf, a well-bred representative of an impoverished noble family. One day in 1745, Prince Dietrichstein, an Austrian aristocrat, a descendant of the richest ancient family, went to a Viennese coffee house to try a newfangled chocolate drink. He was so subdued modest charm a sweet girl who decided to marry her, despite the protests of his family.
Wanting to present to his bride unusual gift, the prince allegedly ordered her portrait to the artist Lyotard. However, it was an unusual portrait - the prince asked to portray the girl in the image in which he met her and fell in love at first sight. According to another version, the artist depicted in the picture the chambermaid of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, who struck him with her beauty.
Skeptics argue that in fact everything was much less romantic than in beautiful legend. And even Anna was not Anna, but the simple Nandl Balthauf, who came not from a noble family, but from ordinary family- all her ancestors were servants, and women achieved the blessings of life by often providing special services in the master's beds. It was precisely for such a fate that the girl was prepared by her mother, who insisted that in another way her daughter could not achieve either money or happiness.
According to this version, the prince first saw the girl not in a cafe, but serving in the house of one of his acquaintances. Nandl tried to catch his eye more often and in every possible way tried to attract attention to herself. The plan succeeded, and the smart maid soon became the mistress of the aristocrat. However, she was not satisfied with the role of "one of", and she ensured that the prince began to introduce her to his guests and stopped meeting with other mistresses.
And soon the world was shocked by the news: Prince Dietrichstein was marrying a maid! He really ordered a portrait of the bride to Lyotard, and when he told him about his chosen one, the artist said: “Such women always achieve what they want. And when she succeeds, you will have nowhere to run. The prince was surprised and asked what Lyotard meant, and he replied: “There is a time for everything. There will come a time when you yourself will understand this. I fear, however, that it will be too late. But, apparently, the prince did not understand anything: until the end of his days, he lived with his chosen one and died, bequeathing to her all his fortune. Not a single woman was able to approach him anymore. And the wife in her declining years managed to achieve honor and recognition in the world.
Since 1765, the “Chocolate Girl” has been in the Dresden Gallery, and during World War II, the Nazis took this picture, along with other exhibits of the gallery, to the Königstein Castle above the Elbe, where the collection was later discovered Soviet troops. By what miracle the precious collection was preserved there, despite the cold and dampness of the cellars, art historians are still surprised.
The identity of the model in the portrait has not yet been accurately identified, but Lyotard's "Chocolate Girl" seems to fascinate everyone who comes to the Dresden Gallery, and is considered one of her best masterpieces. It is noteworthy that "Shokoladnitsa" became one of the first trademarks in the history of marketing. It is still used as a logo by a chain of coffee houses.
Lyotard painted portraits and prominent people of her time - for example, the empress in the XVIII century.
Since childhood, I remember the thrill that this picture causes .. A glass of water can be looked at endlessly.
I dream of collecting a collection of books "IZHZL" (from the life wonderful people). This is so, a lyrical digression on a near-cultural theme
And here is the info from the site http://www.nearyou.ru/100kartin/100karrt_36.html
Swiss artist J.-E. Lyotard was called "the painter of kings and beautiful women". Everything in his life was made up of happy accidents and circumstances that talented painter, gifted to the same practical mind, skillfully took advantage.
At one time, the family of J.-E. Lyotara was forced to emigrate from France to Geneva. Future artist at one time he studied in Paris with the engraver and miniaturist Masse. Then in the life of J.-E. Liotard began years of wandering, during which he visited many cities and countries. He traveled as a companion of nobles, as many people often had to do. artists of the XVIII century.
Travel gave J.-E. Lyotard is a diverse material for observations and has accustomed him to almost documentary accuracy of sketches. For portraits J.-E. Lyotard is characterized by exceptional accuracy in the reproduction of the model, and this is precisely what the artist gained European fame for himself and acquired high patrons. He met with a warm welcome from the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna, and from the Pope in Rome, and from Turkish Sultan in Constantinople. Everyone liked the portraits of J.-E. Lyotard is the similarity of faces, the completeness in the image of the materials of clothing and jewelry, and the colorfulness of his canvases.
The portrait of the beautiful Anna Baldauf (Anna Baltauf), world-famous under the name "Chocolate Girl" (French "La belle chocoladiere") and countless times copied and engraved (located in the Dresden Gallery) was written in Vienna.
Most likely, Anna was a servant at the court of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, where the painter noticed the girl. Anna, the daughter of an impoverished knight, served as a maid at court.
They say that it was there that the young Prince Dietrichstein noticed her beauty.
He fell in love and - to the dismay of the aristocracy - married her.
As wedding gift Prince Dietrichstein ordered Jean Etienne Lyotard, who was working at the Viennese court at that time, a portrait of his bride in the very clothes in which he first saw her.
They say that on the day of the wedding, the bride invited friends of the chocolate makers and, being happy with her elevation, gave them her hand with the words: "Here! Now I have become a princess, and you can kiss my hand."
This picture is also notable for the fact that it was the first to depict the first porcelain in Europe - Meissen
Now this painting is in Dresden art gallery, but initially it was bought by the Venetian Count Algarotti, a connoisseur and lover of painting. In one of his letters, he said: "I bought the famous Lyotard pastel. It is executed in imperceptible degradations of light and with excellent relief. The transferred nature is not changed at all; being a European work, the pastel is executed in the spirit of the Chinese ... sworn enemies of the shadow. Well As for the finished work, it can be said in one word: this is a pastel Holbein, depicting a young German maid in profile, carrying a tray with a glass of water and a cup of chocolate.
Indeed, the picture shows only one female figure.
But she is depicted in a way that captivates most viewers who visit famous gallery in Dresden. J.-E. Lyotard managed to give the picture the character of a genre scene. There is free space in front of the "Chocolate Girl", so the impression is that the model does not seem to be posing for the artist, but passes in front of the viewer with small steps, carefully and carefully carrying a tray.
The eyes of the "Chocolate Girl" are modestly lowered, but the awareness of her attractiveness illuminates her entire tender and sweet face. Her posture, the position of her head and hands - everything is full of the most natural grace. Her small foot in a gray high-heeled shoe peeks out modestly from under her skirt.
The colors of the "Chocolate Girl" clothes were chosen by J.-E. Liotard in soft harmony: a silver-gray skirt, a golden bodice, a shining white apron, a transparent white scarf and a fresh silk cap - pink and delicate, like a rose petal ... The artist, with his inherent precision, does not deviate a single line from the most detailed reproduction of the form body "Chocolate Girl" and her clothes. So, for example, the dense silk of her dress is quite realistic; the folds of the apron, which had just been taken out of the linen drawer, had not yet straightened out; the glass of water reflects the window, and it reflects the line of the top edge of the small tray.
The painting "Chocolate Girl" is distinguished by its completeness in every detail, which J.-E. Lyotard. Art historian M. Alpatov believes that "because of all these features, "Chocolate Girl" can be attributed to the wonders of optical illusion in art, like those bunches of grapes in the picture of the famous ancient Greek artist who tried to peck sparrows." After the conventionality and mannerisms of some masters of the 18th century, the almost photographic accuracy of the painting by J.-E. Lyotara gave the impression of a revelation.
The artist worked exclusively in the pastel technique, which was very common in the 18th century, and mastered it to perfection. But J.-E. Lyotard was not only a virtuoso master of this technique, but also its staunch theoretician. He believed that it was pastel that most naturally conveys color and the subtlest transitions of chiaroscuro within light colorful tones. The very task of showing a figure in a white apron against a white wall is a difficult pictorial task, but J.-E. Lyotara in a combination of a gray-gray and white apron with pale-gray shades and a steely shade of water is a real poetry of colors. In addition, using thin transparent shadows in "Chocolate Girl", he achieved the perfect accuracy of the drawing, as well as the maximum convexity and definiteness of volumes.
based on Wikipedia and the story of N.A. Ionina, publishing house "Veche", 2002
Tales of masterpieces
Swiss artist J.-E. Lyotard was called "the painter of kings and beautiful women." Everything in his life was made up of happy accidents and circumstances that the talented artist, who was also gifted with a practical mind, skillfully took advantage of.
At one time, the family of J.-E. Lyotara was forced to emigrate from France to Geneva. The future artist at one time studied in Paris with the engraver and miniaturist Masse. Then in the life of J.-E. Liotard began years of wandering, during which he visited many cities and countries. He traveled as a companion of noble people, as many artists of the 18th century often had to do.
Travel gave J.-E. Lyotard is a diverse material for observations and has accustomed him to almost documentary accuracy of sketches. For portraits J.-E. Lyotard is characterized by exceptional accuracy in the reproduction of the model, and this is precisely what the artist gained European fame for himself and acquired high patrons. He met with a warm welcome from the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna, and from the Pope in Rome, and from the Turkish Sultan in Constantinople. Everyone liked the portraits of J.-E. Lyotard is the similarity of faces, the completeness in the image of the materials of clothing and jewelry, and the colorfulness of his canvases.
The portrait of the beautiful Anna Baldauf (Anna Baltauf), world-famous under the name "Chocolate Girl" (French "La belle chocoladiere") and countless times copied and engraved (located in the Dresden Gallery) was written in Vienna.
Most likely, Anna was a servant at the court of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, where the painter noticed the girl. Anna, the daughter of an impoverished knight, served as a maid at court.
They say that it was there that the young Prince Dietrichstein noticed her beauty.
He fell in love and - to the dismay of the aristocracy - married her.
As a wedding gift, Prince Dietrichstein commissioned Jean-Étienne Lyotard, who worked at the Viennese court at that time, a portrait of his bride in the very clothes in which he first saw her.
They say that on the day of the wedding, the bride invited friends of the chocolate makers and, being happy with her elevation, gave them her hand with the words: "Here! Now I have become a princess, and you can kiss my hand."
This picture is also notable for the fact that it was the first to depict the first porcelain in Europe - Meissen
Now this canvas is in the Dresden Art Gallery, but it was originally bought by the Venetian Count Algarotti, a connoisseur and lover of painting. In one of his letters, he said: "I bought the famous Lyotard pastel. It is executed in imperceptible degradations of light and with excellent relief. The transferred nature is not changed at all; being a European work, the pastel is executed in the spirit of the Chinese ... sworn enemies of the shadow. Well As for the finished work, it can be said in one word: this is a pastel Holbein, depicting a young German maid in profile, carrying a tray with a glass of water and a cup of chocolate.
Indeed, the picture shows only one female figure.
But she is depicted in a way that captivates most viewers visiting the famous gallery in Dresden. J.-E. Lyotard managed to give the picture the character of a genre scene. There is free space in front of the "Chocolate Girl", so the impression is that the model does not seem to be posing for the artist, but passes in front of the viewer with small steps, carefully and carefully carrying a tray.
but the consciousness of her attractiveness illuminates her whole tender and sweet little face. Her posture, the position of her head and hands - everything is full of the most natural grace. Her small foot in a gray high-heeled shoe peeks out modestly from under her skirt.
The colors of the "Chocolate Girl" clothes were chosen by J.-E. Liotard in soft harmony: a silver-gray skirt, a golden bodice, a shining white apron, a transparent white scarf and a fresh silk cap - pink and delicate, like a rose petal ... The artist, with his inherent precision, does not deviate a single line from the most detailed reproduction of the form body "Chocolate Girl" and her clothes. So, for example, the dense silk of her dress is quite realistic; the folds of the apron, which had just been taken out of the linen drawer, had not yet straightened out; the glass of water reflects the window, and it reflects the line of the top edge of the small tray.
The painting "Chocolate Girl" is distinguished by its completeness in every detail, which J.-E. Lyotard. Art historian M. Alpatov believes that "because of all these features, "Chocolate Girl" can be attributed to the wonders of optical illusion in art, like those bunches of grapes in the picture of the famous ancient Greek artist who tried to peck sparrows." After the conventionality and mannerisms of some masters of the 18th century, the almost photographic accuracy of the painting by J.-E. Lyotara gave the impression of a revelation.
The artist worked exclusively in the pastel technique, which was very common in the 18th century, and mastered it to perfection. But J.-E. Lyotard was not only a virtuoso master of this technique, but also its staunch theoretician. He believed that it was pastel that most naturally conveys color and the subtlest transitions of chiaroscuro within light colorful tones. The very task of showing a figure in a white apron against a white wall is a difficult pictorial task, but J.-E. Lyotara in a combination of a gray-gray and white apron with pale-gray shades and a steely shade of water is a real poetry of colors. In addition, using thin transparent shadows in "Chocolate Girl", he achieved the perfect accuracy of the drawing, as well as the maximum convexity and definiteness of volumes.
Jean-Etienne Lyotard. Chocolate girl, 1745. Fragment | Photo: artchive.ru
Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Lyotard is considered one of the most mysterious painters XVIII century. Legends about his travels and adventures have come down to our days no less than exciting stories about his paintings. Lyotard's most famous work is undoubtedly The Chocolate Girl. An interesting legend is connected with this painting: according to the testimony of the artist's contemporaries, here he depicted a waitress who married a prince, to whom she once served chocolate in a cafe. But about the character and moral qualities of this person, very contradictory evidence has been preserved ...
Jean-Etienne Lyotard. Self-portrait (Lyotar Laughing), 1770. Fragment | Photo: artchive.ru
In Lyotard's painting "Chocolate Girl" we see a modest girl who humbly lowered her eyes, probably in front of a visitor to a coffee shop, to whom she is in a hurry to serve hot chocolate. According to one version, which was generally accepted for a long time, the artist depicted in this picture Anna Baltauf, a well-bred representative of an impoverished noble family. One day in 1745, Prince Dietrichstein, an Austrian aristocrat, a descendant of the richest ancient family, went to a Viennese coffee house to try a newfangled chocolate drink. He was so subdued by the modest charm of a sweet girl that he decided to marry her, despite the protests of his family.
Jean-Etienne Lyotard. Chocolate girl, 1745 | Photo: artchive.ru
Wishing to give his bride an unusual gift, the prince allegedly ordered her portrait to the artist Lyotard. However, it was an unusual portrait - the prince asked to portray the girl in the image in which he met her and fell in love at first sight. According to another version, the artist depicted in the picture the chambermaid of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, who struck him with her beauty.
Jean-Etienne Lyotard. Self-portraits 1768 and 1773 | Photo: liveinternet.ru and artchive.ru
Skeptics argue that in fact everything was much less romantic than in a beautiful legend. And even Anna was not Anna, but the simple Nandl Baltauf, who did not come from a noble family, but from an ordinary family - all her ancestors were servants, and women achieved life's blessings by often providing special services in the master's beds. It was precisely for such a fate that the girl was prepared by her mother, who insisted that in another way her daughter could not achieve either money or happiness.
Jean-Etienne Lyotard. Chocolate lady. Fragment | Photo: artchive.ru
According to this version, the prince first saw the girl not in a cafe, but serving in the house of one of his acquaintances. Nandl tried to catch his eye more often and in every possible way tried to attract attention to herself. The plan succeeded, and the smart maid soon became the mistress of the aristocrat. However, she was not satisfied with the role of "one of", and she ensured that the prince began to introduce her to his guests and stopped meeting with other mistresses.
*Chocolate Girl* Lyotara in the Dresden Gallery | Photo: livemaster.ru
And soon the world was shocked by the news: Prince Dietrichstein was marrying a maid! He really ordered a portrait of the bride to Lyotard, and when he told him about his chosen one, the artist said: “Such women always achieve what they want. And when she succeeds, you will have nowhere to run. The prince was surprised and asked what Lyotard meant, and he replied: “There is a time for everything. There will come a time when you yourself will understand this. I fear, however, that it will be too late. But, apparently, the prince did not understand anything: until the end of his days, he lived with his chosen one and died, bequeathing to her all his fortune. Not a single woman was able to approach him anymore. And the wife in her declining years managed to achieve honor and recognition in the world.
*Chocolate Girl* - one of the most replicated works of XVIII century | Photo: fb.ru
Since 1765, the “Chocolate Girl” has been in the Dresden Gallery, and during World War II, the Nazis took this picture, along with other gallery exhibits, to the Königstein Castle above the Elbe, where the collection was later discovered by Soviet troops. By what miracle the precious collection was preserved there, despite the cold and dampness of the cellars, art historians are still surprised.
One of the oldest US trademarks | Photo: fb.ru and itom.dk
The identity of the model in the portrait has not yet been accurately identified, but Lyotard's "Chocolate Girl" seems to fascinate everyone who comes to the Dresden Gallery, and is considered one of her best masterpieces. It is noteworthy that "Shokoladnitsa" became one of the first trademarks in the history of marketing. It is still used as a logo by a chain of coffee houses.
