Figure of Mezzetin, from Commedia dell'arte, in hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels, modelled by W. Neu, Kloster-Veilsdorf porcelain factory, Thuringia, 1764-1765.

Figure of Mezzetin, from Commedia dell'arte, in hard-paste porcelain painted with enamels. He stands holding a palette in one hand, to which he points with the other hand. He wears a cloak coat, breeches and cap of yellow stripes with green. White ruff collar and red shoes. Brown palette with patches of colour.

The information here is from the essay by Sattler in the 2001 Stuttgart exhibition catalogue (see reference below).

Hildburghausen is the seat of the Dukes of Sachsen Hildburghausen and its ruler, Duke Carl (1727-1780) was fanatical about the theatre. Soon after he inherited the dukedom in 1745, he converted the 'Ballspielhaus' in Hildburghausen into a theatre in 1750-55 and was a lavish patron of the arts. The Duke's younger brother, Prinz Friedrich Wilhelm Eugen von Sachsen-Hildburghausen (1730-95) had developed a keen interest in porcelain during a stay in Copenhagen and in 1759 leased the 'Kammergut' Closter Veilsdorf, a few kilometres from Hildburghausen in order to found a porcelain factory. Initially his workmen could only produce earthenwares, however it was only when Nicolaus Paul the younger arrived in 1763, who had been given the 'arcana' (secret of porcelain production) from his father at the Fürstenburg factory, that porcelain production started.

The Commedia dell'Arte figures are among the first produced by the factory. Wenzel Neu (ca. 1707-1774) had first visited Closter Veilsdorf in 1761. He is recorded at Volkstedt in 1762 and was 'Modellmeister' (chief designer) at Closter Veilsdorf from 1763- October 1767. Neu was born in Tragau, Bohemia in about 1707. He was probably trained in Prague by two sculptors; Braun and Maximilian Brockoff. In 1742 he was invited to become 'Modellmeister' at the faience factory in Fulda which had started one year previously. He worked there, creating the models for all their figures until the factory closed in 1761. During his time at Closter Veilsdorf he worked on at least 91 different models: 33 figures and groups, 11 animals, 7 busts or portrait reliefs, 2 snuffboxes, 1 sword-hilt, 3 cane handles, 2 sculptural pipe-heads, 5 mirrors, brush-heads, 12 pieces for a dinner service and 11 pieces for a tea and coffee service, 3 sweetmeat dishes and one objet de vertu. In addition he oversaw the models created by his apprentices. He subsequently returned to Fulda where he died on 21st May, 1774.

Neu created a series of 10 Commedia figures after the Augsburg engravings. 'Neu succeeded in transforming his graphical source into superb three-dimensional works of art. He hardly changed the appearance of certain figures (Scaramuza, Doctor Poloward, Pierot and Arlequin), but adapted others (Gobiel, Capitaine Rodomond and Columbina). Only the appearance of Isabelle and, in particular Mezzetin were altered noticeably.' (Mezzetin is seated in the engraving). The series was produced over a long period of time and appears in the documents 12 years after Neu had left the factory. However, they were only produced to order, so it is impossible to say how many were made.

According to Meredith Chilton (see reference below): 'Mezzetin was a servant and a companion of Scapin and Brighella. He was a gifted and sensitive musician and dancer, but as unscrupulous as his fellow rascals, ready to gamble and stir up trouble.' He is often shown playing the guitar, an instrument introduced from Spain that was very popular in Italy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. While the Mezzetin figures made at many factories show him wearing red-striped breeches, perhaps referring to a famous Mezzetin, Angelo Constantini of the Parisian troupe of Italian comedians who was immortalised by Watteau in several paintings. Neu however, with only the engravings for reference, correctly painted the costume with vertical stripes, but used yellow and green, colours traditionally associated with madness and folly.

The Commedia dell’Arte, was a form of improvised street theatre, which spread from 16th-century Italy throughout Europe, and remained popular for around two centuries. Commedia dell'Arte troupes engaged in very physical acting using music, dance and acrobatics in their performances. While the plot was largely improvised, stock characters were used and were recognisable to the audience by their costumes, accents and poses. The popularity of this form of theatre inspired paintings and decorative objects depicting the commedia characters.

This figure of Mezzetin is from a set of ten made at Kloster Veilsdorf in 1764. They were created by the factory's master modeller Wenzel Neu, following engravings of designs by Johann Jacob Schubler published in Augsburg in 1729 (engraved by Johann Balthasar Probst). They may have been intended for display at grand dinners and set out down a table during the service of the dessert.

Mezzetin, like his fellow servant and companion Harlequin, was a notorious rascal. He was also known as a musician and dancer and is shown wearing his traditional striped musician's costume, here coloured yellow and green to indicate folly or madness. He is also shown holding an artist's palette after Schubler's design which shows him painting his fellow commedia characters.

The factory at Kloster Veilsdorf was near Hildburghausen, the seat of the Dukes of Sachsen- Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, in present day northern Germany. It was founded in 1759, but did not achieve commercial production until 1763, when Nicholas Paul the younger brought his father's 'arcana' (knowledge of porcelain production) from the factory at Fürstenburg. Two years later the Kloster Veilsdorf factory received a privilige (patent) from the Duke of Sachsen Hildburghausen. Almost all the the eighteenth-century German porcelain factories were founded with princely or ducal support and many relied on such patronage for their continued survival.

C.59-1929