(St. Paul/Eppan 1704–1761 St. Michael/Eppan)
In the Painter’s Studio,
signed lower right: J. G. Platzer,
oil on copper, 47.6 x 64.5 cm, framed

Provenance:
Private European collection;
Private collection, Bavaria

Exhibited:
Graz, Landesmuseum Joanneum, Delikatesse der Malerei, Meisterwerke von Johann Georg Platzer, , 2007/8, no. 35

Literature:
U. Becker, in: Delikatesse der Malerei, Meisterwerke von Johann Georg Platzer, exhibition catalogue, Landesmuseum Joanneum, Graz, 2007, pp. 140/41, no. 35

In the Graz exhibition catalogue (which shows a detail of the present painting on the cover), Ulrich Becker writes about the present work (see literature): ‘The theme of the painting, which is unusually large for Platzer, is the lively discourse in an artist’s studio. The painter depicted has interrupted work on a monumental composition, a highly dynamic and quite liberal bacchanal, listening to an elderly visitor. The latter seems to consult the open book for his argumentation, while he points at the painting as if he wished to critically comment upon the creative process. An elegant couple is also present, which is addressed by an elderly woman with an impish expression. Whereas the man, wearing a splendid costume in the style of the full-length portraits of Anthony van Dyck, primarily seeks to underscore his social rank through his imperious pose while his wife apathetically looks out of the picture. Her attire similarly seems to be a direct quotation from the repertoire of Van Dyck’s portraiture. In the background, a student busies himself with drawing from life, while a smirking pigment grinder appears to mock all the commotion involving his master […]. The artist of the painting could not but be personally present in the scene – if not among the protagonists, so at least in the form of a double portrait, which is the only picture surrounded by an elaborately decorated frame. Peeping over the shoulder of a woman (in reality, the painter never married), Platzer introduced himself in the painting in the form of an allusion to the Flemish wedding portrait, quasi as an off-comment upon this allegory of art discourse.’

In this scene set at a painter’s studio, Platzer displays his exquisite talents as an artist. Offering an abundance of detail, exhibiting his qualities in all categories of painting. Platzer’s skills manifest themselves in his extraordinary mastery of artistic techniques. Thanks to the special treatment of the copper support, he managed to achieve subtle nuances that resemble an enamel-like surface.

Ulrich Becker (op. cit., 2007, p. 7): ‘The extraordinary value of Platzer’s painting has long been recognised. With its stupendous technical perfection, it is the most felicitous epilogue imaginable to a great art historical tradition, namely that of seventeenth century Flemish cabinet painting, which, spreading mainly from Antwerp, had made its way into countless collections and museums. At a time when the Rococo, which by then had arrived at its acme, was countered with Neo-Classicism’s strict message of virtuosity, the joie de vivre and sensuality that was commonly associated with the eighteenth century merged with the canon of painted moral education inherited from the Gouden Eeuw, the Dutch Golden Age. Yet in Platzer’s art, this legacy, which ultimately goes back to humanist roots, seems to be ironically inflected, i.e., annihilated in the sense of Hegel, and thus lives on as an integral part of an artistic bequest in the heart of Europe.’