China in the Studio. Painting Porcelain in the Seventeenth-Century Netherlands

The European fascination with Chinese porcelain began when the first cargo reached Middelburg in 1602. Within four decades, the Dutch had imported over three million pieces. Artisans and artists were the first to explore the epistemological dimension of this exchange. Potters tried to recreate the new material. Painters confronted a stylistic and thematic challenge.

The project explores to what extent paintings of porcelain were repositories of material and optical knowledge. It combines an object-based analysis of still lifes with the exploration of contemporary debates. The reflexive qualities of porcelain were discussed in relation to the Dutch artistic theory that privileged the oil medium’s mirroring gloss. Painted porcelain conjured up the association between the ‘secret’ of making porcelain and the alleged secrets of the artist’s workshop. The project explores whether on the micro-level of technical preparation, painters envisioned structural similarities between their work and chemistry.

MPIWG Colloquium - Thijs Weststeijn

Monday 29 October 2012, 4-6 pm 

China in the Studio. Painting Porcelain in the Seventeenth-Century Netherlands

Villa, Room V005, Harnackstraße 5 | Further information and the dates for future events are available on the MPIWG website - Events and here.