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Overglasur Carl Martin Hansen

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Carl Martin-Hansen (1877-1941)

National Costumes of Denmark

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Carl Martin-Hansen (1877-1941)

Danske folkedragter

Denne serie består af i alt 47 figurer og blev til i årene 1906-1925. Kunstneren var i samtiden højt skattet for udførelsen af en lang række portrætbuster og offentlige mindesmærker. Han hørte til en kreds af danske kunstnere, der efter århundredskiftet videreførte de naturalistiske traditioner i arbejder, der vidner om både smag og evne til karakteristik. Serien af danske folkedragter blev uden tvivl en af hans største succes'er.

I overensstemmelse med den kunstretning, han repræsenterede, forlangte han, at egnsdragterne i alle detaljer var korrekte. De er kopieret efter originaler på Nationalmuseet og andre steder, og som man vil se af nærbillederne i det følgende, blev ingen karakteristiske enkeltheder glemt.

Dette krav kunne kun gennemføres, fordi Den kongelige Porcelainsfabrik rådede over en stab. der generation efter generation havde nedarvet en tradition for minutiøs malerteknik fra fabrikkens første store periode i 1 780'erne.

Også i anden henseende knyttedes en forbindelse til traditionerne fra det 18. århundrede. 42 af disse figurer udgjorde ewde1afen gave fra danske kvinder til Christian X og Dronning Alexandrine i anledning af kongeparrets sølvbryllup den 26. april 1923.

Gaven bestod bl.a. af 120 specielt udførte tallerkener, hvortil figurerne sluttede sig - som borddekorationer. Figurerne repræsenterede alle de områder, hvorover Christian X regerede: Danmark, Færøerne, Grønland, Island, der var i personalunion med Danmark, og Slesvig, hvis nordlige dansksindede del havde stemt sig hjem til moderlandet blot tre år før sølvbrylluppet.

Denne gave skal ses på baggrund af den stærke nationale stemning, der rådede efter Nordslesvigs hjemsvenden til det danske rige, og som Christian X og Dronning Alexandrine livet igennem stod som samlingsmærke for. Der var tale om en folkegave i egentligste forstand. Indsamlingen begyndte allerede to år inden sølvbrylluppet, og bidragyderne - alle kvinder - kunne give mindst 25 øre og højst 5 kroner. Til trods for disse begrænsninger indkom i alt den dengang betydelige sum af 200.000 kroner fra danske kvinder i ind- og udland.

Af større betydning end denne tidsbestemte lejlighed var, at Carl Martin-Hansen med denne serie satte et varigt minde over dansk folkekultur. Han påbegyndte sit arbejde, endnu mens folkedragterne var i brug eller i det mindste i frisk erindring. Ikke blot er detaljerne, som nævnt, korrekte gengivelser af hver egns særpræg i klædedragt. Amager-figurerne er tillige alle portrætter af dem, der bar dragterne, hvorved serien fremtræder som en autentisk redegørelse for en svunden tidsalder.

Carl Martin-Hansen (1877-1941)

Danish National Costumes

This series comprises in all 47 figures, which were produced in the period 1906-1925. The artist was much admired by his contemporaries for his considerable production of busts and public monuments. He belonged to a school of Danish artists, which, after the turn of the century, carried on the naturalistic tradition in works, marked by both tastefulness and richness of characterisation.

The series of Danish national coastlines was without doubt one of Carl Martin-Hansen's greatest successes. In keeping with the dictates of the school of art to which he be1onged, he demanded that all the detail s in the regional costumes should be absolutely correct. They were copied from original s in the National and otter Danish Museums. As can be dearly observed from the close-up pictures, which follow, not a single characteristic detail was missed out. This artistic criterion could only be met because the Royal Copenhagen Porcelain Manufactory had at its disposal a staff of craftsmen, which had inherited a tradition for meticulous painting technique _own the generations from the factory's first golden age in the l780s.

The link with 18th century traditions is also preserved here in another way. 42 of these figures formed part of a gift presented by the women of Denmark to King Christian X and Queen Alexandrine to mark their silver wedding in 1923. This gift consisted amongst otter items of 120 specially produced plates to go with the figurines, which were intended as a table decoration. The figurines represented typical costumes of the inhabitants of all the territories over which Christian X ruled, viz. Denmark, The Faeroe Islands and Greenland as well as Iceland which was in union with Denmark at the time, and Slesvig, the northern, Danish, part of which had voted to return to the mother country just three years before the Royal Silver Wedding.

The occasion offered Carl Martin-Hansen the opportunity of erecting, as it were, a permanent monument to Danish folk culture. He began his work whilst national costume was still worn, or if not, at least fresh in people's memories.

It is not only the detailed work, which faithfully reproduces the distinctive character of the costumes of each different region or district. The Amager figures are also authentic portraits of the people who actually wore the costumes. So the series provides us in fact with an authentic picture of a bygone age.

Overglasurdekoration

Overglasurfigurerne kendetegnes ved det store udvalg af farver, en rigdom på detaljer, og at der på en del af figurerne er lagt guld og sølv i knapper og spænder. Fagudtrykket ”overglasur” hentyder til, at farverne er malet oven på glasuren, efter at porcelænet er brændt færdigt i blankovnen. Dette indebærer, at figurerne må brændes igen ved ca. 800°C, for at farverne kan smelte sammen med glasuren.

Dekorering af overglasurfigurerne kræver en sikker hånd og stor tålmodighed. Malerne skal kunne give mønstre og stof den rigtige karakter og ansigtet det rette udtryk. Hver maler har et stort udvalg af farver, der er i pulverform og som skal spartles op med vegetabilsk terpentin og tilsættes forskellige olier såsom sejolie og nellikeolie, alt efter om det er flader eller detaljer, der skal males.

Farverne består af forskellige metalforbindelser, f. eks. jern i den røde farve, kobolt i den blå og kobber eller krom i den grønne. Purpur farven indeholder guld. Farvepulveret indeholder ud over farvestoffet et flusmiddel, som ved brænding i dekorationsovnen smelter til en slags glasur, der binder farvekornene til porcelænet.

Til hver figur skal der i gennemsnit bruges omkring 25 forskellige farver, som nøje blandes i bestemte forhold for at opnå de rigtige nuancer. Figurerne brændes mindst 2 gange i dekorations ovnen, da det er nødvendigt at male de fleste farver i 2 lag for at opnå tilstrækkelig dybde og farvespil i dragterne. Der bliver ligeledes lagt guld og sølv i knapper og spænder efter første brand. Efter den sidste brand bliver guld og sølv poleret med en agatstift, og ligeledes bliver der på nogle af figurerne graveret mønstre eller navnetræk i spænder med en spids agat.

Overglaze-decoration  

Characteristic of the overglaze-decorated figurines are the wide range of colours, the richness of detail and the fact that on same of the figurines the buttons and belt-buckles have been touched up with gold and silver. The technical term overglaze means that the colours have been painted on top of the glaze, that is after the piece of porcelain has been fired the second time. The overglaze colours are, after having been applied, fixed to the porcelain by extra firings at about 800°c.  

The painting demands a steady band, a sure brush technique, and much patience, the painters have to give patterns and clothes the right texture and appearance, as well as ensuring that the facial expressions are right. Every painter has a wide range of colours at his disposal. These colours are in powder form and have to be primed with turpentine and mixed with various vegetable oils, such as oil of cloves, depending on whether details are to be painted or larger areas coated.  

The colours themselves are metallic compounds: in red there is iron, in blue co bolt, in green copper or chrome, purple contains gold, and so an. To the pigments is added flux, which when fired, melts down to a kind of glaze, which ties the pigments to the porcelain.  

On an average same 25 different colours are used on each figure mixed in ample proportions in order to achieve the right shades. The figures are fired at least twice at 800°C, as it is necessary to paint most colours in two coats to ensure the right depth and play of the different nuances. Gold and silver on the buttons and belt-buckles are applied before the last firing after which they are polished by band with an agate. The last to be done is the engraving of patterns and monograms on the golden or silvery belt-buckles.  

By the time a figurine finally reaches completion and has survived the many transports between the painting workshop and the oven and the risks involved in firing it, many hours have been taken up and many thousands of strokes of the brushes performed. As a case in point, let us just mention that no fewer than nine colours are used in the Greenland woman's beaded yoke seen on the opposite page. The red colour alone has been applied to more than 3500 sections.

Porcelænsplastikkens opståen og baggrund

 Porcelænsfigurer betragtedes ikke i det 18. århundrede som enkeltstående, selvstændige kunstværker; de vurderedes som habilt håndværk. Vi har her en af forklaringerne på, at de fleste er anonyme. I reglen kan man kun med usikkerhed hæfte et kunstnernavn på dem. De var brugsgenstande, der betragtedes som steldele, der hørte til ”desserttøjet”. Når de ikke var i brug på det dækkede bord, var de stillet ind i aflåsede kabinetter, som man endnu kan se det f. eks. på Rosenborg eller Christiansborg.

Ved de store festtafler var ,det skik, at skueretterne ved måltidet s afslutning blev båret frem til gæsternes underholdning. Det kunne f. eks. være scener fra den græsk-romerske mytologi, allegorier over en fyrstes dyder eller landområder, eller rokokoens yndede hyrdescener. Skueretterne var udført af husets

konditor - under hvem borddækningen sorterede konfirmationsfesternes kransekage toppe og overflødighedskornene er en direkte arv fra denne skik, om end kun som en svag afglans af 1700-tallets overdådige arrangementer.

I 1736 fandt Johann Joachim Kandler, der arbejdede på Meissenfabrikken som modellør, på at udvide stellene med porcelænsfigurer, der var mere holdbare end konditorens skrøbelige kompositioner i dej og sukkergodt. Ideen blev snart taget op ved andre porcelænsmanufakturer. Datidens kogebøger var fulde af lovord over denne forbedring, der sparede konditoren for meget arbejde, og anbefalede, at de store huse anskaffede sig, et righoldigt udvalg. Uden undtagelse har de figurer, som ses i dette afsnit af . kataloget, tjent netop dette formål - og ingen andre.

1700-tallets porcelænsplastik er et af de interessan­teste kapitler i europæisk kunst- og kulturhistorie.

Link: Værker af Carl Martin-Hansen i Det offentlige Rum

Emergence and Background of the Plastic Art of Porcelain

In the eighteenth century, porcelain figurines were not regarded as independent, individual works of art, but rather appraised as competent handicraft. This is one reason why the majority are anonymous. They were articles of utility regarded as parts of a dessert service. When they were not in use on the table during meals, they were put out of sight in special cabinets, as earn still be seen, for example in the palaces of Rosenberg and Christiansborg in Copenhagen. In no way did they constitute part of the furnishings in the 18th century.

It was the custom at the great banquets that, at the end of the meal, dishes meant as showpieces were presented for the entertainment of the guests. There might be scenes from Greco-Roman mythology, allegories expounding a prince's virtues or territories, or the rococo period's partiality for pastoral scenes. The show-dishes were modelled either in wax or pastry by the household's pastry-cook, whose responsibility it also was to set the table.

In 1736, Johann Joachim Kandler, who was working as a modeller at the factory at Meissen, had the idea of expanding the’ dinner services to inc1ude porcelain figurines, these being more durable than the pastry-cooks' fragile compositions of dough and confectionery. Otter porcelain manufacturers soon took up the idea. Contemporary cookery backs were full of praise for this innovation that saved the pastry-cook enormous work and recommended that great houses procure a wide variety. Without exception, the figurines shown in ibis section of the catalogue have served this and no other purpose.

The porcelain figurines of the eighteenth century provide one of the most revealing chapters in the history of European art and culture. Every single detail reflects the demands that were made at that time on the craftsmen and artisans to satisfy the prosperous section of society. Furthermore they speak quite c1early about the conception of the world and attitude to life that were prevalent amongst those of the times who lived in comfortable, though secluded, ease.

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