Jean Etienne Lyotard, "Chocolate Girl"

The Swiss artist Jean Etienne Lyotard, whose "Chocolate Girl" is the jewel of the collection of the Dresden Picture Gallery, for his long and happy life (1702-1789) created about 400 works. "Holbein pastels" (Lyotard's colleagues called it, recognizing his unconditional talent) did not write bad works, but the masterpiece of world painting was the canvas, which was named at the beginning of the article.

Photographic image accuracy

What does "Holbein pastels" mean? The works of the greatest German artist Hans Holbein the Younger are famous for their portrait resemblance and the jewelry design of the drawing. But he painted with oil, and pastor glorified Lyotard. "Chocolate Girl" - the most famous canvas, executed in this manner. All the pictures of the Swiss artist are distinguished by photographic accuracy, the smallest elaboration of every detail. One of the art historians likened Lyotard to the Greek painter Zeusis, known for wanting to prove his superiority over the master of realism, Parrazius, painted such grapes, to which birds immediately flocked to glue it.

Perfect and fragile

The same virtuoso was Lyotard. "Chocolate Girl" refers, in the opinion of this art critic (M. Alpatov), to those masterpieces in which there is a wonderful deception of vision. About this work written a lot, including because it is done in a manner that occurs much less often than watercolor, engraving, and even more so oil painting. Artists resorted to pastels less often because of its fragility and susceptibility to destruction with the smallest careless movements, because the binders in the original material - paste (therefore "pastel") - added very little. Hence, the aging colors do not become outdated on the canvases made in this manner (the materials added to the oil paints darken). And pastel works are crumbled and destroyed during transportation. Over time, the authors of such paintings came to the conclusion that they are best preserved under the glass, resting on the mat - the cardboard edging of the canvas on which the work is done. In this case, the glass does not touch the pattern. But these fragile works are characterized by bewitching brilliance, velvety and specific softness.

Free, imposing, mysterious ...

In this and that manner, Lyotard wrote. "Chocolate Girl" is the most famous and the best, according to many experts, a work done by a pastel, although the artist himself did not distinguish it from everything created earlier. Talented and lucky, he was known as a master, drawing royalty and beauties. Jean Etienne was provided and could afford to deal only with his favorite things - drawing and travel. Lyotard was absolutely free and in life, despite the presence of five children, and in creativity. He was extravagant and mysterious, he was patronized by the royal houses of Europe.

Mysterious model

According to one version, the beautiful girl depicted in the picture is Anna Baldauf, the daughter of an impoverished knight. The noble lineage allowed her to be a maid at the court of Empress Maria Theresa. There, her beauty and grace was noticed by the artist. In another, more romantic version, Prince Dietrichstein, visiting a Viennese coffee house, was captivated by the beauty of a waitress at a glance. He married her, contrary to the will of the family, and at the wedding gave his Cinderella her portrait in the outfit in which he saw Anna for the first time. The gift was royal, since Lyotard was a court painter, and his work was very expensive. There are other versions of the posed model.

Charming simplicity

The picture is captivating, it fascinates, despite the fact that its plot is more than simple. After pretentious paintings, for example, the same Watteau, on which coquettish ladies and gentlemen were portrayed, the lonely figure of a girl carrying a tray of hot chocolate along a white wall looked unexpectedly simply, naturally and charmingly. A canvas measuring 82.5 x 52.5 was made on parchment with pastel, which the artist Lyotar mastered perfectly. "Chocolate Girl", written in rococo style, amazes with filigree precision of subjects - the apron girl just got out of the dresser, the slightest fold is visible on it, the chocolate-bearer herself seems to be breathing and the chocolate smells.

Visual aids on physics

In the chocolate chocolates everything is charming - a small leg, the back is straight, but not tense, the girl is not emaciated thin, but slim. Wonderfully outfitted costume, wonderfully matched colors. And in fact it is necessary to consider, that only a white wall serves as a background - any to you of a bust or a tub with flowers. But the special delight of connoisseurs of painting from the moment of the appearance of the painting to our days is a lacquered Chinese tray in the hands of a girl with a glass of water and a cup of chocolate. The picture is also valuable because it is the first time that the famous Meissen porcelain, which has its long and remarkable history, was engraved on it. But a glass made of Bohemian glass, filled with water, is written out so that, according to experts, it clearly demonstrates the refraction of light at the boundary of two transparent media (Snellius law). This is one of the best praises that JE Lyotard deserved. "Chocolate Girl" is not a portrait, but a genre scene.

The oldest trademark of the USA

From the moment of writing, fate favors this work - it is very replicated and incredibly popular, including today. This can not boast of any product of the XVIII century. What's the matter? Since 1765, the canvas is in the picture gallery of Dresden, and 120 years later, when the famous museum was visited by the owner of the oldest American concern Bakers Chocolate, which was engaged in the production of this product. Henry L. Pierce was fascinated by what Jean Lyotard painted. "Chocolate Girl" becomes the company's trademark. La Belle Chocolatiere ("Beautiful Chocolate Girl") - a logo approved in two years, went down in history as the first and oldest trademark in the USA and one of the oldest in the world.

A broad and unbeaten gesture of the USSR

In the Soviet Union, this picture became especially popular when, in 1955, the paintings of the country in the form of war trophies returned to the Dresden Gallery of Nikita Khrushchev's will.

Most of the masterpieces restored by the best Soviet masters before the show were exhibited from May 2 to August 20, and people from all parts of the vast country hurried to say goodbye to the pictures, among which was the famous canvas created by Jean Etienne Lyotard, the "Chocolate Girl".