About the Artwork
In 1722 Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony, undertook an ambitious scheme to transform a Dresden residence into a "palace of porcelain." Renamed the "Japanese Palace" in honor of his immense collection of Asian ceramics, the palace was intended to display Meissen porcelain as well. For a 270 foot-long gallery, Augustus commissioned from Meissen monumental animal and bird sculptures, large painted vases, and architectural elements such as door frames and a small chapel. Given this demanding task, Meissen hired its first chief modeler, Johann Gottlieb Kirchner, in 1727. Kirchner's early models for the Japanese Palace, such as the life-size bust of Saxon court jester Joseph Fröhlich, explored the technical limits of porcelain as a sculpture medium. In the expressive features and vigorous modeling, this baroque bust demonstrates Kirchner’s artistic mastery.
Joseph Froehlich, Court Jester of Augustus the Strong
1729 or 1730
Johann Gottlob Kirchner (Artist) German, 1706-after 1737 Meissen Porcelain Manufactory (Manufacturer) German, founded 1710
Hard-paste porcelain
Overall: 20 × 15 1/2 × 12 inches (50.8 × 39.4 × 30.5 cm)
Ceramics
European Sculpture and Dec Arts
Gift of Anne and Henry Ford II
59.295
This work is in the public domain.
Markings
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Marked, in blue, on bottom, center Stamped, in clay, on bottom: 662 Painted, in gold, on bottom: 93 Painted, in brown, on bottom: NY Marked, on bottom: [blue logo]v AR [monogram]
Provenance
by 1873, Sir William Richard Drake [1817–1890] (Weybridge and London, United Kingdom). until 1959, Siegfried [1893–1961] and Violet "Lola" Ingeborg Else Kramarsky [1896–1991] (Amsterdam and New York, New York, USA)
1959, (Rosenberg & Stiebel) (New York, New York, USA)
1959, sold to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA) with funds from Anne and Henry Ford II (Grosse Pointe, Michigan, USA)
For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:
Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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A Short Description of the English and Continental Porcelain Exhibited June 1873. Exh. cat., Burlington Fine Arts Club. London, 1873, pp. 9, 17.
Catalogus van de tentoonstelling van oude kunst: door de vereeniging van handelaren in oude kunst in Nederland in het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam. Exh. cat., Rijksmuseum. Amsterdam, 1929, p. 129, no. 661 (ill.).
Avery, C. Louise. Masterpieces of European Porcelain. Exh. cat., Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1949, cat. 232.
Art Treasures Exhibition. Exh. cat., Parke-Bernet. New York, 1955, cat. 259 (ill.).
Honey, W. B. Dresden China. London, p. 84.
Meissner Porzellan des Achtzehnten Jahrhunderts. p. 33 (pl. 76).
Grigaut, Paul L. "Two Court Jesters in Meissen Porcelain." Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts 40, no. 1 (1960–61): 6–10, p. 7–8 (ill.). [see erratum]
Scott, C. and Ryland Scott, Jr. Antique Porcelain Digest. England, 1961, pp. 35, 191, no. 256 (pl. 67).
Detroit Institute of Arts. The Institute Collects. 1965, p. 16.
Cummings, Frederick J. and Charles H. Elam. The Detroit Institute of Arts Illustrated Handbook. Detroit, 1971, p. 127 (ill.).
Rückert, R. "Der Hofnarr Joseph Fröhlich, Porträts und Lebenslauf eines Dresdener Spassmachers." Kunst & Antiquitäten 5 (1980): pp. 42-55; no. 6. [1980, p. 56-70; no. 1, 1981, pp. 57-73]
100 Masterwork from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, p. 146-147 (ill.).
Czernis-Ryl, E. "The Golden Years of Meissen Porcelain and Saxon Jesters: the Schmiedel bust in Australia." Keramik-Freunde der Schweiz 104 (October 1989): pp. 5, 9-10 (fig. 3).
Pietsch, U. Die figürliche Meißner Porzellanplastik von Gottlieb Kirchner und Johann Joachim Kaendler. Bestandskatalog der Porzellansammlung Staatliche Kunstsammlungen. Munich, 2006, pp. 10-11, cat. 2.
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Credit Line for Reproduction
Meissen Porcelain Manufactory; after a model by Johann Gottlob Kirchner, Joseph Froehlich, Court Jester of Augustus the Strong, 1729 or 1730, hard-paste porcelain. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of Anne and Henry Ford II, 59.295.
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