Johann Eleazar Schenau, born Johann Eleazar Zeissig, stands as a significant, if sometimes overlooked, figure in the landscape of 18th-century German art. Active as a painter, engraver, and notably as a designer for the famed Meissen porcelain manufactory, Schenau's career traversed the dynamic artistic currents of his time, from the lingering influences of the Baroque and Rococo to the burgeoning sensibilities of Neoclassicism and Sentimentalism. His journey from Saxony to the vibrant art world of Paris and back to a position of academic leadership in Dresden equipped him with a diverse skill set and a broad artistic vision that left a discernible mark on his students and the decorative arts of his era.
Early Life and Artistic Awakening in Saxony
Born in 1737 in Großschönau, a town in Saxony renowned for its damask weaving, Johann Eleazar Zeissig (who would later adopt the name Schenau, likely after his birthplace) was immersed in a region with a strong craft tradition. While details of his earliest artistic inclinations are sparse, it is known that he received his foundational artistic education in Dresden. The Saxon capital was a major cultural hub, boasting rich collections and a burgeoning Academy of Fine Arts. This environment would have exposed the young artist to a wealth of artistic stimuli, from Old Masters to contemporary trends.
His training in Dresden would have grounded him in the academic principles of drawing and composition. The city's artistic life was vibrant, with figures like Bernardo Bellotto capturing its urban splendor and Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich (Dietricy) demonstrating remarkable versatility across various genres and styles, often emulating Dutch masters. Though direct tutelage under specific masters in this early Dresden period is not always clearly documented, the environment itself was a powerful teacher.
The Parisian Sojourn: New Influences and Stylistic Development
A pivotal moment in Schenau's career came in 1756 when he relocated to Paris, the undisputed center of the European art world. He remained there until 1770, a period of nearly fifteen years that profoundly shaped his artistic outlook. In Paris, Schenau encountered the dominant Rococo style, epitomized by artists like François Boucher, whose charming and sensuous mythological and pastoral scenes were highly fashionable. Boucher's influence would later be particularly evident in Schenau's designs for Meissen porcelain, especially in the depiction of playful and graceful figures.
However, Schenau was also drawn to other, more nuanced currents in French art. He was notably influenced by Jean-Siméon Chardin, whose quiet, intimate still lifes and genre scenes celebrated the dignity of everyday life and the beauty of simple objects. Chardin's subtle handling of light and texture, and his empathetic portrayal of domesticity, offered a contrast to the Rococo's exuberance and likely resonated with Schenau's own sensibilities.
Perhaps the most significant French influence on Schenau's painting, particularly his genre scenes, was Jean-Baptiste Greuze. Greuze was a master of the "sentimental" or "moralizing" genre scene, depicting emotionally charged family dramas and virtuous narratives that appealed to the growing middle-class taste for art that could edify and evoke pathos. Schenau absorbed Greuze's ability to capture expressive figures and create compelling narrative compositions, a quality that would become a hallmark of his own genre paintings and even some of his porcelain designs. During his time in Paris, Schenau would also have been aware of the work of other prominent artists such as Jean-Honoré Fragonard, whose playful Rococo scenes were immensely popular, and Joseph Vernet, the celebrated landscape and seascape painter. The environment of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture and its regular Salons provided a competitive and stimulating atmosphere for artists.
Return to Dresden: Academician and Leader
In 1770, Schenau returned to Dresden, his artistic vision enriched and his reputation enhanced by his Parisian experiences. His talents were soon recognized, and in 1774, he was appointed a professor at the prestigious Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. This institution, founded earlier in the century with figures like Charles-François de Silvestre playing a key role, was central to artistic training in Saxony. Schenau's role at the Academy was not merely pedagogical; he eventually served as its director, sharing this responsibility at times with the Italian artist Giovanni Battista Casanova, brother of the famous adventurer Giacomo Casanova. Giovanni Battista Casanova, known for his historical paintings and drawings, brought a different, perhaps more classically Italianate, perspective to the Academy.
As a professor and director, Schenau played a crucial role in shaping the next generation of artists. He was known to be a dedicated teacher, and his students included figures such as Friedrich Traugott Georgi and Christian Lebrecht Vogel. Vogel, in particular, went on to become a noted portraitist and painter of children, and one can see a continuation of Schenau's interest in capturing character and a certain tender sentimentality in Vogel's work. Schenau's teaching would have emphasized solid draughtsmanship, a legacy of his own academic training and Parisian experience, combined with an appreciation for expressive content. He also collaborated with or was connected to engravers like Johann Georg Wille, a German engraver highly successful in Paris, whose work helped disseminate artistic compositions widely.
Schenau at the Meissen Porcelain Manufactory: A Master of Design
Beyond his academic responsibilities and his work as a painter, Johann Eleazar Schenau made one of his most lasting contributions as the design director for the renowned Meissen Porcelain Manufactory. He took on this significant role around 1773, succeeding previous influential figures and working alongside talented modellers and painters at the factory. Meissen, the first European hard-paste porcelain producer, had already established a legendary reputation under figures like the brilliant modeller Johann Joachim Kändler. By the time Schenau arrived, the factory was looking to adapt to changing tastes, moving beyond the high Baroque and elaborate Rococo towards styles that incorporated Neoclassical elements and the popular sentimental themes.
Schenau was instrumental in this stylistic evolution. Drawing on his Parisian influences, particularly Boucher for figural grace and Greuze for sentimental themes, he created numerous designs for porcelain figures, groups, and decorative tableware. His designs often featured charming children, pastoral scenes, and allegorical figures, executed with a characteristic elegance and sensitivity. He was adept at translating painterly compositions into the three-dimensional medium of porcelain or creating designs suitable for overglaze painting. Figures like Michel Victor Acier, a French modeller who worked at Meissen from 1764 and collaborated with Kändler and later Schenau, contributed to the factory's output of these newer, often more sentimental, figural groups. Schenau's leadership helped Meissen maintain its prominence and adapt to the evolving aesthetic preferences of the late 18th century, ensuring its continued commercial success and artistic relevance. His work for Meissen is a testament to his versatility and his keen understanding of decorative potential.
Artistic Style, Genres, and Thematic Concerns
Johann Eleazar Schenau's artistic output was diverse, spanning several genres. His style can be seen as a blend of German artistic traditions with significant French Rococo and Sentimental influences, gradually incorporating some of the clarity and restraint associated with emerging Neoclassicism.
In portraiture, Schenau was sought after, particularly by the Saxon nobility and members of the Dresden court. While perhaps not as revolutionary as some of his contemporaries in other centers, his portraits were characterized by a competent likeness, a refined technique, and often a gentle, approachable quality. He aimed to capture not just the physical features but also a sense of the sitter's personality, often within elegant but not overly ostentatious settings.
His landscape paintings, though less numerous or well-documented than his other works, show an appreciation for natural scenery, likely influenced by both Dutch traditions and contemporary French landscape painters like Claude-Joseph Vernet, whose work he would have known from Paris.
It was in genre painting that the influence of Greuze was most apparent. Schenau created scenes of everyday life, often imbued with a moralizing or sentimental tone. These works depicted family interactions, moments of tenderness, or simple domestic virtues. His ability to convey emotion through gesture and facial expression was key to the appeal of these paintings.
Schenau also tackled religious and historical subjects. His works in this vein, such as Christ's Resurrection (Auferstehung Christi, 1786) and Christ on the Cross (Kreuzigung Christi, 1788), were significant commissions, often for ecclesiastical settings. These pieces, sometimes controversial among his peers, demonstrated his ambition to engage with the grand traditions of history painting, blending Baroque dynamism with a more contemporary sensibility. The debates these works sparked suggest an artist willing to engage critically with established conventions.
Throughout his oeuvre, a consistent feature was his strong draughtsmanship, a skill honed through academic training and essential for his work as a painter, engraver, and designer. His drawings, often preparatory studies, reveal a fluid line and a keen observational skill.
Notable Works and Their Significance
Several works stand out in Johann Eleazar Schenau's oeuvre, illustrating the breadth of his talents and the key characteristics of his style.
The Visit to the Grandparents (Der Besuch bei den Großeltern): This charming sketch, dating from between 1765 and 1775, exemplifies Schenau's engagement with sentimental genre themes. It captures a tender family moment, showcasing his ability to convey affection and intergenerational connection through simple gestures and expressions. Such works resonated with the Enlightenment-era emphasis on family values and sensibility.
A Little Girl Receives Her New Year's Gifts (Une petite fille reçoit ses étrennes): This painting, later engraved by Justus Chevillet, was highly popular and considered one of the quintessential French genre scenes of its time, despite Schenau being German. It highlights his success in adopting and mastering the French sentimental style, focusing on childhood innocence and familial affection. The choice of Chevillet, a skilled French engraver, to reproduce the work underscores its appeal to the Parisian market.
The Happy Family with Children Playing: Similar to The Visit to the Grandparents, this work further explores themes of domestic bliss and the joys of family life. Such paintings catered to a growing bourgeois audience that appreciated art reflecting their own values and experiences.
Christ's Resurrection (Auferstehung Christi, 1786) and Christ on the Cross (Kreuzigung Christi, 1788): These altarpieces, created for churches in Dresden and Großschönau respectively, represent Schenau's contributions to religious art. They demonstrate his capacity to work on a large scale and to engage with profound theological themes, adapting traditional iconography to the stylistic currents of his time. The fact that these works generated discussion among his contemporaries, including artists like Anton Graff, a leading portraitist, indicates their visibility and Schenau's engagement with the artistic discourse of his day.
Porcelain Designs for Meissen: While specific "named" porcelain pieces are often attributed to the factory's overall design direction rather than a single artist's signature, Schenau's period as design director (from c. 1773) saw the production of numerous figural groups and tableware series characterized by Rococo grace infused with sentimentalism. These include pastoral scenes, allegories of the seasons or senses, and groups of children at play, often reflecting the influence of Boucher and Greuze. These designs were crucial for Meissen's continued international success.
La lanterne magique (The Magic Lantern): This copper engraving shows Schenau's skill in the graphic arts. The magic lantern was a popular form of entertainment, and scenes depicting its exhibition were common, often carrying an allegorical or social commentary.
Das Kunstgespräch (The Art Discussion): The inclusion of this work in publications like "Das Kabinett des Sammlers" (The Collector's Cabinet) suggests its recognition within connoisseurial circles and its thematic relevance to the appreciation and discussion of art itself.
These works, across different media, illustrate Schenau's versatility, his responsiveness to prevailing artistic trends, and his ability to connect with the emotional and intellectual concerns of his audience.
Schenau as an Engraver, Draughtsman, and Collaborator
Beyond his paintings and porcelain designs, Johann Eleazar Schenau was an accomplished draughtsman and had connections to the world of printmaking. His drawings, whether preparatory sketches for larger compositions or finished works in their own right, reveal a confident hand and a keen eye for detail and expression. Draughtsmanship was the foundation of academic art training, and Schenau's proficiency in this area underpinned all his artistic endeavors.
His involvement with engraving was also notable. While he produced some engravings himself, such as La lanterne magique, he also saw his painted compositions disseminated through prints made by other specialized engravers. This was a common practice in the 18th century, allowing an artist's work to reach a much wider audience than original paintings alone could. The engraving of A Little Girl Receives Her New Year's Gifts by Justus Chevillet is a prime example of this collaborative relationship, which was vital for an artist's reputation and commercial success.
His association with figures like Johann Georg Wille, a highly respected German engraver who achieved great fame in Paris, further underscores Schenau's immersion in the Franco-German artistic networks of the time. Wille's studio in Paris was a meeting point for many artists. Schenau also had connections with artists like Jean Daniel Heimlich (Johann Daniel Heimlich), known for his etchings. These interactions highlight the interconnectedness of the art world, where painters, engravers, and designers often collaborated and influenced one another.
Teaching, Legacy, and Art Historical Evaluation
Johann Eleazar Schenau's influence extended significantly through his role as an educator at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. As a professor and director, he helped shape the artistic development of numerous students, including Christian Lebrecht Vogel and Friedrich Traugott Georgi. His teaching would have combined the rigorous academic training he himself received with the broader European perspectives gained during his long stay in Paris. He instilled in his students a respect for solid draughtsmanship, compositional skills, and an understanding of various genres. His impact on 18th-century German art, therefore, is not only measured by his own creations but also by the subsequent achievements of those he taught.
His work at the Meissen porcelain manufactory also constitutes a major part of his legacy. By guiding the factory's design direction during a period of stylistic transition, he helped maintain Meissen's prestige and adapt its products to evolving consumer tastes. His designs, blending Rococo elegance with emerging sentimental and Neoclassical trends, contributed to the factory's continued international acclaim.
In art historical evaluations, Schenau is recognized as a versatile and skilled artist who successfully navigated the diverse artistic currents of the 18th century. He adeptly absorbed French influences, particularly from Greuze and Boucher, and integrated them into his own work, which nevertheless retained a certain German character. While perhaps not reaching the revolutionary status of some of his contemporaries like Anton Raphael Mengs (a fellow Saxon who became a leading proponent of Neoclassicism in Rome and Madrid), Schenau played a vital role in the artistic life of Dresden and in the broader German art scene.
His paintings, particularly his genre scenes, were popular in their time for their emotional appeal and relatable subject matter. His portraits provided valuable records of Saxon society, and his religious works contributed to the visual culture of the church. Despite his contemporary success and his significant roles, some art historians suggest that his work has not always received the sustained scholarly attention it might warrant, particularly in comparison to artists who more radically broke with tradition. However, his contributions to painting, art education, and, very notably, to the world-renowned Meissen porcelain, secure his place as an important figure in 18th-century European art and design. His works are found in various collections, including the German Damask and Terry Museum (Deutsches Damast- und Frottiermuseum) in his native region, testifying to his enduring local and national significance.
Later Years and Conclusion
Johann Eleazar Schenau continued his artistic activities in Dresden into the early 19th century, remaining a respected figure in the city's cultural life. He passed away in Dresden in 1806, leaving behind a substantial body of work across multiple media and a legacy as an influential teacher and designer.
In conclusion, Johann Eleazar Schenau (Zeissig) was a multifaceted artist whose career successfully bridged the gap between the Rococo and the emerging Neoclassical and Romantic sensibilities of the late 18th century. His Saxon origins, enriched by a formative period in Paris, allowed him to synthesize German and French artistic traditions. As a painter, he excelled in genre scenes, portraits, and religious compositions, often imbued with the fashionable sentimentality of the era. His role as a professor and director at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts enabled him to shape a generation of artists, while his directorship of design at the Meissen porcelain manufactory saw him make lasting contributions to one of Europe's most prestigious decorative art forms. Though perhaps not always in the brightest spotlight of art historical narratives, Schenau's skill, versatility, and influential positions mark him as a key contributor to the artistic fabric of 18th-century Germany. His life and work offer valuable insights into the artistic exchanges, educational practices, and evolving tastes of a dynamic period in European art history.
