Beautiful chocolate picture. The mystery of the famous “Chocolate Girl” by Lyotard: the story of Cinderella or the predatory hunter for the princely title

The Swiss artist Jean Etienne Lyotard, whose “Chocolate Girl” is the pearl of the collection of the Dresden Art Gallery, for his long and happy life(1702-1789) created about 400 works. “Holbein pastels” (as Lyotard’s colleagues called him, thereby recognizing his unconditional talent) did not write bad work, however, the painting named at the beginning of the article became a masterpiece of world painting.

Photographic image accuracy

What does "Holbein pastels" mean? Works of the greatest German artist The younger ones are famous portrait resemblance and jewelry design. But he painted in oils, and pastels were glorified by Lyotard. "Chocolate Girl" is the most famous painting made in this manner. All paintings by the Swiss artist are distinguished by photographic accuracy and the finest attention to detail. One of the art critics compared Lyotard with the ancient Greek artist Zeuxis, famous topics, that, wanting to prove his superiority over the master of realism Parrhasius, he painted such grapes that birds immediately flocked to them to eat them.

Perfect and fragile

Lyotard was the same virtuoso. “Chocolate Girl” is, in the opinion of this art critic (M. Alpatov), one of those masterpieces in which there is a wonderful optical illusion. A lot has been written about this work, including because it was executed in a manner that is much less common than watercolors, engravings, and even more so oil painting. Artists resorted to pastel less often because of its fragility and susceptibility to destruction with the smallest careless movements, because binders Very little was added to the source material - paste (hence “pastel”). Hence the timeless freshness of colors on canvases made in this manner (materials added to oil paints, darken). And pastel works crumble and are destroyed during transportation. Over time, the authors of such paintings came to the conclusion that they are best preserved under glass supported by a mat - a cardboard edging of the canvas on which the work was done. In this case, the glass does not touch the drawing. But these fragile works are distinguished by a bewitching radiance, velvety and specific softness.

Free, imposing, mysterious...

It was in this manner that Lyotard wrote. “Chocolate Girl” is the most famous and best, according to many experts, work made in pastel, although the artist himself did not distinguish it from anything created previously. Talented and successful, he was known as a master who painted royalty and beauties. Jean Etienne was wealthy and could only afford to do what he loved - drawing and traveling. Lyotard was absolutely free both in life, despite having five children, and in his work. He was extravagant and mysterious, and was patronized by the royal houses of Europe.

Mysterious model

According to one version, beautiful girl, depicted in the painting, is Anna Baldauf, the daughter of an impoverished knight. Noble origins allowed her to be a maid at the court of the Empress of Austria Maria Theresa. There the artist noticed her beauty and grace. According to another, more romantic version, Prince Dietrichstein, having visited, was captivated by the beauty of the waitress at first sight. He married her, against the wishes of the family, and for the wedding he gave his Cinderella a portrait of her in the outfit in which he saw Anna for the first time. The gift was royal, since Lyotard was a court artist, and his works were very expensive. There are other versions about the posing model.

Charming simplicity

The picture is captivating, it fascinates, despite the fact that its plot is more than simple. After the elaborate paintings of, say, Watteau, which depicted flirtatious ladies and gentlemen, the lonely figure of a girl carrying a tray along a white wall looked unexpectedly simple, natural and charming. The canvas, measuring 82.5 x 52.5, is made on parchment using pastels, which the artist Lyotard mastered to perfection. “Chocolate Girl,” written in striking detail with the filigree precision of the objects - the girl has just taken the apron out of the chest of drawers, the slightest wrinkle is visible on it, the chocolate giver herself seems to be breathing, and the chocolate smells.

Visual aid to physics

Everything about the chocolate girl is charming - her small leg, her back is straight, but not tense, the girl is not emaciated, but slender. The costume is wonderfully designed, the colors are wonderfully chosen. And you have to take into account that the background is only a white wall - no bust or tub of flowers for you. But the lacquered Chinese tray in the girl’s hands, on which stands a glass of water and cups of chocolate, has been of particular delight to art connoisseurs from the moment the painting appeared to the present day. The painting is also valuable because it is the first time that a famous artist with a long and wonderful history is depicted on it. But a glass filled with water is designed in such a way that, according to experts, it clearly demonstrates at the border of two transparent media (Snell’s law). This is one of the best praises that J. E. Lyotard deserves. “Chocolate Girl” is considered not a portrait, but a genre scene.

Oldest US trademark

From the moment it was written, fate has favored this work - it has been widely circulated and incredibly popular, including today. Not everyone can boast of this work XVIII century. What's the matter? Since 1765, the canvas has been in the Dresden art gallery, and 120 years later I saw it when visiting famous museum owner of the oldest American concern Bakers Chocolate, which was involved 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 (“The Beautiful Chocolate Lady”) - the logo, approved two years later, went down in history as the first and oldest trademark in the USA and one of the oldest in the world.

A broad and unsurpassed gesture of the USSR

In the Soviet Union, this picture became especially popular when in 1955 Dresden gallery By the will of N.S. Khrushchev, paintings received by the country in the form of war trophies were returned.

Most of the masterpieces restored by the best Soviet masters were exhibited from May 2 to August 20 before being sent, and people from all over the vast country rushed to say goodbye to the paintings, among which was famous painting, which was created by Jean Etienne Lyotard, - “Chocolate Girl”.

Swiss artist J.-E. Lyotard was called "the painter of kings and beautiful women"Everything in his life consisted of happy accidents and circumstances that talented artist, gifted also with a practical mind, skillfully took advantage of it.

J.-E. Lyotard. Self-portrait in Turkish costume. Pastel.

At one time, the family of J.-E. Lyotard was forced to emigrate from France to Geneva. Future artist At one time he studied in Paris with the engraver and miniaturist Masse. Then in the life of J.-E. Lyotard began years of wandering, during which he visited many cities and countries. He traveled as a companion of noble people, as many artists of the 18th century often had to do.

Travel gave J.-E. Lyotard had a variety of material for observation and was accustomed to almost documentary accuracy in his sketches. For portraits of J.-E. Lyotard is characterized by exceptional accuracy in reproducing the model, and it is for this reason that the artist gained European fame and acquired high patrons. He received a warm welcome from the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna, the Pope in Rome, and the Turkish Sultan in Constantinople. Everyone liked the portraits of J.-E. Lyotard's similarity of faces, completeness in the depiction of materials of clothing and jewelry and the colorfulness of his canvases.

The portrait of the beautiful Anna Baltauf, world famous under the name “La belle chocoladiere” and copied and engraved countless times (located in the Dresden Gallery) was painted in Vienna.
Most likely, Anna was a servant at the court of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, where the painter noticed the girl. Anna, the daughter of an impoverished knight, served as a maid at court.
They say that it was there that the young Prince Dietrichstein noticed her beauty.
He fell in love and - to the horror of the aristocracy - married her.
As a wedding gift, Prince Dietrichstein commissioned Jean Etienne Lyotard, who was working at the Viennese court at the time, to paint a portrait of his bride in the very clothes in which he first saw her.
They say that on the wedding day, the bride invited her chocolate makers and, being happy with her elevation, gave them her hand with the words: “Here! Now I have become a princess, and you can kiss my hand.”
This painting is also notable for the fact that it was the first to depict the first porcelain in Europe - Meissen

Now this painting is in the Dresden art gallery, but it was originally bought by the Venetian Count Algarotti, a connoisseur and lover of painting. In one of his letters, he reported: “I bought the famous Lyotard pastel. It is executed in imperceptible degradations of light and with excellent relief. The conveyed nature is not at all changed; being a European work, the pastel is executed in the spirit of the Chinese... sworn enemies of the shadow. Well Regarding the completeness of the work, it can be said in one word: this is a Holbein of pastels.It depicts in profile a young German chambermaid carrying a tray with a glass of water and a cup of chocolate.

Indeed, the painting depicts only one female figure.

But she is depicted in such a way that she captivates the majority of spectators who visit famous gallery in Dresden. J.-E. Lyotard managed to give the picture the character of a genre scene. In front of the “Chocolate Girl” there is free space, so the impression is that the model is not posing for the artist, but is walking in front of the viewer with small steps, carefully and carefully carrying the tray.

The “Chocolate Girl”’s eyes are modestly lowered, but the consciousness of her attractiveness illuminates her entire gentle and sweet face. Her posture, the position of her head and hands - everything is full of the most natural grace. Her small foot in a gray high-heeled shoe modestly peeks out from under her skirt.

The colors of the “Chocolate Girl” clothes were chosen by J.-E. Lyotard in soft harmony: a silver-gray skirt, a golden bodice, a shining white apron, a transparent white scarf and a fresh silk cap - pink and delicate, like a rose petal... The artist, with his usual precision, does not deviate one bit from the most detailed reproduction of the form the body of the “Chocolate Girl” and her clothes. So, for example, the thick silk of her dress is quite realistically bristling; The folds of the apron, just taken out of the linen drawer, have not yet straightened out; a glass of water reflects the window, and the line of the upper edge of a small tray is reflected in it.

The painting “Chocolate Girl” is distinguished by its completeness in every detail, which J.-E constantly strived for. Lyotard. Art critic M. Alpatov believes that “due to all these features, “The Chocolate Girl” can be classified as a miracle of optical illusion in art, like those bunches of grapes in the painting of the famous ancient Greek artist, which the sparrows tried to peck." After the conventions and mannerisms of some 18th-century masters, the almost photographic precision of J.-E. Lyotard's painting gave the impression of a revelation.

The artist worked exclusively in the pastel technique, very common in the 18th century, and mastered it perfectly. But J.-E. Lyotard was not only a virtuoso master this technique, but also its convinced theoretician. He believed that pastel most naturally conveys color and subtle transitions of light and shade within light colorful tones. The very task of showing a figure in a white apron against a white wall is a difficult pictorial task, but J.-E. Lyotard's combination of a gray-gray and white apron with pale gray shadows and a steely tint of water is a real poetry of colors. In addition, by using thin transparent shadows in “Chocolate Girl,” he achieved perfect accuracy of the drawing, as well as maximum convexity and definition of volumes.

based on Wikipedia materials and the story of N.A. Ionina, Veche publishing house, 2002

The painting Chocolate Girl in the Dresden Gallery attracts with its photographic precision, clear lines and minimalism. The Swiss painter Jean Etienne Lyotard masterfully worked in the pastel technique and during the Viennese period of creativity 1743-1745. created his own better job. Venetian painters spoke of the painting as the pinnacle of mastery: “the most beautiful pastel that you could ever see."

The portrait of a cute girl serving hot chocolate was created on parchment - treated leather. The painting has medium dimensions: 82.5 cm x 52.5 cm. And although it is located among other paintings, it invariably attracts attention.

How the Chocolate Lady Liotard ended up in Germany

The remarkable work of J.E. Lyotard was delivered to the Saxon Elector Augustus III Italian writer and art critic Francesco Algarotti.

Count Algarotti appeared at the Saxon court in 1742. He examined everyone works of art, which made up the royal collection, which gained undeniable authority. Since Augustus III was an active collector of artistic masterpieces, in 1743, on his instructions, Algarotti went to Italy to replenish the collection with worthy new items from famous artists.

For about four years, the art historian carried out the mission entrusted to him and delivered 34 paintings to Dresden, among which was Lyotard’s “Das Schokoladenmädchen”.

About the author of the painting Chocolate Girl

Jean Etienne Lyotard is a Swiss artist. Why is it best picture“The Beautiful Chocolate Lady” was written in Vienna, and came to the gallery of the Saxon Elector from Italy? And the reason is simple. Lyotard began his creative activity in Geneva, but at 32 he went on a long journey to the southeast. At first it was Italy, Greece and Constantinople.

Then the artist ended up in Vienna, where he gained the favor of Maria Theresa and worked at the court of the Austrian Empress. It was there that he painted a portrait of a young lady holding a tray with refreshments. When Lyotard moved to Venice again, his interests intersected with Count Algarotti, who acquired the painting for.

Who is shown in the picture

It has not yet been established for certain who posed for the artist when creating the portrait.

There are several versions suggesting that the young beauty could have served at the Viennese court. It is possible that the artist living in Vienna at that time depicted a sweet girl whom he had seen more than once at work.

Some researchers are inclined to believe that the model of the Chocolate Girl was the daughter of a Viennese coachman, who worked as a maid. But not every maid is honored by artists with a portrait... This is followed by romantic story about how Prince Dietrichstein saw the maid Anna and fell in love with her a simple girl. And when she married him, he turned to Jean Lyotard with a request to paint the image that captivated the prince.

“The Chocolate Lady” is a painting by the Swiss artist Jean Etienne Lyotard, the most famous work author. Written in mid-18th century century, it still attracts the attention of visitors to the Dresden Gallery, to whose collection it belongs.

Let's meet the artist

Jean Etienne (1702-1789) is a non-trivial figure. He was known as a “painter of truth,” but not because he sought to capture the injustice of the world or expose those in power. Lyotard loved an accurate depiction of what he saw. His work is often close to photography. Today, such an approach is unlikely to surprise anyone, but at that time, canvases that conveyed reality in an embellished form, full of brilliance and the obligatory charm, were in fashion. Lyotard can be called a rebel, but with a happy destiny. He was loved strongmen of the world This is why he left for his descendants magnificent portraits of the Marshal of Saxony, Pope Clement XII, and the Empress of Austria. The image of the latter vividly illustrates the author’s non-standard approach for the 18th century: the queen is not painted surrounded by the trappings of power or full of thoughts about the fate of Austria; in the portrait she looks more like a mother worried about her sons and a woman bursting with health.

Jean Etienne was an avid traveler. He visited Moldova and Romania, did not neglect Italy, France, Greece, lived for some time in Turkey and brought from there a love for the East and numerous images of delicate beauties against the backdrop of exotic flowers. Just some time after the artist’s return from Constantinople, “The Chocolate Girl” appears, a painting that brought Lyotard worldwide fame.

Attention to detail

The composition of the canvas is quite simple: in full height a girl is depicted with a tray in her hands. This is a chocolate bar. The author of the picture managed to capture the young lady in such a way that it seems as if she is about to move on past the enthusiastic observers. How is this effect created? It's all in the details. Folds of clothing, elements of a cup, and finally, reflection in a glass of water - everything makes the image so realistic that the girl seems alive.

Each element is carefully designed. You can see that the maid’s apron is completely fresh: even the folds have not yet straightened out, apparently it was only recently put on. The artist paid attention to the drawing of both the lace on the cap and on the cup. Creating the illusion of movement is not last role the free space in the direction where the chocolate girl is going also plays. This is exactly what makes Lyotard’s painting captivating: realism and simplicity, not devoid of tenderness.

Light and color

The warmth of the artist’s relationship with the model is always read by the viewer in one way or another. Here it is conveyed using color palette. Delicate pink, white, golden, silver-gray flowing into each other glow from the inside, like the young chocolate maker herself. The picture is painted in pastel, conveying the slightest nuances of shades. Similar technique Lyotard preferred painting to others and was considered a true pastel virtuoso.

The author managed to convey the inner light of the heroine. She is modest, but in her posture and head position one can read pride and awareness of her own beauty. A simple maid? Regular chocolate maker? The picture allows us to hope that this is not the case.

Legends of all-conquering love

The painter definitely did not paint the girl from his imagination. Despite the fact that Lyotard's main biographer does not agree with this, rumor ascribes a romantic origin to the painting.

Jean Etienne often portrayed beauties, including the chocolate girl. The author of the picture, according to one version, was hired by Prince Liechtenstein (or Duke Dietrichstein) to perpetuate the image of his future wife. The girl's name was supposedly Anna or Charlotte Baldauf. IN different options According to legends, she served with the empress or in a small cafe. Future husband noticed her at the moment when she was carrying a cup of wonderful and aromatic drink royalty or visitors to the establishment. The noble lover, despite the protests of his relatives, proposed to Anna. Having received consent, he turned to the artist with a request to capture his beloved as she appeared before him for the first time. Whether this is true or a myth is now quite difficult to know. However, it is absolutely certain that the subsequent fate of the painting was full of adventure and a certain romanticism.

For the glory of confectioners and on the brink of death

“The Chocolate Girl” was in the collection of the German Elector and ended up in the Dresden Gallery. there in late XIX century, she was noticed by the owner of Baker’s Chocolate. Having admired the painting and being inspired by the legends associated with it, he decided to make it the company logo. The Lyotard chocolate maker can still be found on the packaging of treats produced by the company.

During World War II, it, along with other masterpieces, was taken away from the constantly bombed city and hidden in one of the fortresses. She was found in a mined basement soviet soldiers and saved from imminent death, returning him back to the gallery.

The painting “Chocolate Girl,” of which there are already thousands of photographs and reproductions, is still in Dresden today. Written more than two centuries ago, it continues to fascinate and inspire.

Jean-Etienne Lyotard, Chocolate Girl, c. 1743-45, Gallery of Old Masters, Dresden

"THE CHOCOLATE GIRL" is one of the famous works of the Swiss artist Jean-Etienne Lyotard. Written in pastel on parchment, full of pictorial skill and poetry, the picture evokes the constant delight of viewers. Among the masterpieces of the Dresden Gallery, it is considered one of the pearls.

The artist was called "the painter of kings and beautiful women." Everything in his life consisted of happy accidents and circumstances, which the talented artist, gifted with a practical mind, skillfully took advantage of.

Jean Etienne Lyotard (1702-1789) was considered one of the most mysterious masters of his time. There are no fewer legends about his travels and adventures than the works he created, and there were about four hundred of them! Colleagues and influential admirers of his talent called Jean “an artist of truth” - for the photographic accuracy of his images, “a painter of kings and beautiful women” - for his love of sophistication.

The legend about the creation of the painting is as follows:

In 1745, the Austrian aristocrat Prince Dietrichstein entered a Viennese coffee shop to try a new chocolate drink that was being talked about so much at the time. His waitress turned out to be Anna Baltauf, the daughter of the impoverished nobleman Melchior Baltauf.

The prince was captivated by her charm, and, despite the objections of his family, he took the girl as his wife. “The Chocolate Girl” became a wedding gift for the new princess, ordered by the newlyweds from the fashionable Swiss artist Lyotard. The portrait artist depicted the bride in an 18th-century waitress costume, immortalizing love at first sight.

But there is another version:

According to another version, the future princess's name was Charlotte Balthauf, her father was a Viennese banker and the painting was painted in his house - this is according to the inscription preserved on a copy of the painting stored in London.

Third version:

It was not a commissioned portrait, but a painting painted according to at will the artist, struck by the beauty of the girl, the chambermaid of Empress Maria Theresa, called Balduf, who later became the wife of Joseph Wenzel von Lichtenstein. In any case, the identity of the model has not been definitely established.

Description of the picture.

The painting depicts only one female figure. But she is depicted in such a way that it captivates the majority of viewers visiting the famous gallery in Dresden. J.-E. Lyotard managed to give the picture the character of a genre scene. In front of the “Chocolate Girl” there is free space, so the impression is that the model is not posing for the artist, but is walking in front of the viewer with small steps, carefully and carefully carrying the tray.

So, for example, the thick silk of her dress is quite realistically bristling; The folds of the apron, just taken out of the linen drawer, have not yet straightened out; a glass of water reflects the window, and the line of the upper edge of a small tray is reflected in it.

The painting “Chocolate Girl” is distinguished by its completeness in every detail, which J.-E constantly strived for. Lyotard. Art critic M. Alpatov believes that “due to all these features, the “Chocolate Girl” can be classified as a miracle of optical illusion in art, like those bunches of grapes in the painting of the famous ancient Greek artist, which sparrows tried to peck.” After the conventions and mannerisms of some 18th-century masters, the almost photographic precision of J.-E. Lyotard came across as a revelation.

The portrait was exhibited in the Dresden Gallery, where it was seen by Henry L. Pierce, president of an American chocolate trading firm, and in 1862 the American company Baker's Chocolate acquired the rights to use the painting, making it the oldest trademark in the United States and one of the oldest in the world. world.

Jean-Etienne Lyotard has always been a supporter of independence - both in life and in art. Rene Losch admits that it was Lyotard’s originality and his incomparable “taste for truth” that attracted her to the artist’s personality and works: “He watched how others worked and... did everything his own way!”

“Painting is a mirror of all the most beautiful things that the Universe offers us” - Jean-Etienne Lyotard.

I really like another work by Lyotard. He has another Chocolate Girl or “Dutch Girl at Breakfast.” Sotheby’s experts valued the painting at 4-6 million pounds (approximately 5.6-8.4 million dollars).

IN Lately interest in the artist’s work increased sharply. Thus, in 2009, at the Christie’s London auction, “A Lady in a Turkish Costume with a Maid in a Hammam” was auctioned for $1,064,088, and in 2012, in Paris, “Portrait of Mademoiselle Louise Jacquet” was sold for almost 2 million dollars. Lyotard Portrait of Mademoiselle Louise Jacquet"