From Chinoiserie to Genre

In spite of a large number of specific differences between Meissen and Vienna porcelain, they had a certain measure of stylistic common ground in all the periods of their development. While in the first half of the eighteenth century Far Eastern forms and décors provided the principal models and sources of inspiration, the late 1730s saw artists at both manufactories beginning to paint purely European subjects. In flower painting, the exotic “indianische Blumen” were gradually supplanted by the familiar “deutsche Blumen” and soon all floral decoration was made up of local species. Likewise, the chinoiseries that had been so much loved in the first generation were replaced by a variety of new motifs, notably harbor scenes, battle scenes, and a variety of motifs from court life. The early Neoclassical and Biedermeier periods, in which porcelain came within the means of the more prosperous middle classes, saw the rise of “genre scenes” or scenes from everyday life. These were much cultivated both by painters on porcelain and by modelers for porcelain, thus bringing about the decline of the mythological subjects that had been in such great demand in the Baroque period.
Following the development of European porcelain over the years is like looking at a veritable kaleidoscope of styles, forms, and décors, constantly in a state of change and constantly reflecting contemporary affairs and ideas. Every porcelain piece – whether functional, like tableware, or not – is at once a decorative item and a document of the time in which it was made.