Porcelain Painter: The Man with the Magic Hands
The profession has become rare, but those who practice it are true artists. Ulf Trittel is a trained porcelain painter at the famous Meissen Manufactory and one of them. He creates unique objects. Petra Springer took porcelain painting lessons and looked over Ulf Trittel’s shoulder while he was creating a truly special piece of art.
Ulf is a big man with strong hands. When I watch him paint with a filigree brush, I always think how these firm hands manage to produce the finest and most delicate porcelain art. He often paints elaborate ornaments, flowers, animals or just anything that springs from his imagination on the smallest of surfaces. Or on whatever the client wishes. Ulf has numerous private customers, all of them are porcelain lovers for who he decorates complete tea and coffee sets. Many of his works go to Japan. He travels there twice a year to teach in private homes of wealthy families. “Japanese are very enthusiastic about everything that is handcrafted. „Handicrafts are very important for Japanese people”, says Ulf. Colored porcelain paintings existed in Japan as early as the 14th century. It wasn’t until the end of the 18th century that they came to us in Europe. The admiration for his art is much greater in Japan than it is here. Japanese place the porcelain pieces Ulf had painted on black velvet, then put them in a frame and hang them on the wall like a painting. It used to be a custom in Europe too, but it’s seldom done anymore.
Painting lessons with Ulf Trittel
Japanese students stand quietly in a circle around him when Ulf demonstrates, for example, how to paint a hummingbird. The artistry starts with the mixing of the colors. The pigments are blended with a few drops of precious oils using a spatula. The consistency of the resulting texture is important. The composing of colors is still a mystery to me, even after several explanations. Porcelain painting is an art in itself. The wealth of experience of each individual porcelain painter alone contains the knowledge of an artistically valuable and perfectly composed result. That was not how I had imagined it. I thought painting on porcelain would be easier, like creating a simple piece art. But when painting porcelain the interplay of colors play a role just as much as the burning and the luminosity of the colors after burning. Each piece is therefore a composition of an effect at first glance and the complete expertise after the burning process.… weiterlesen
Culture&Cream Autorin Petra Springer
Aus dem Bereich Fashion-Illustration & Design Studies an der Meisterschule für Mode, München, kommend, war ich lange Jahre als Fashion-Director für verschiedene Magazine tätig. Seit zwei Jahren arbeite ich als Content-Editor für Online-Portale und entwickle gezeichnete Modekurzfilme. Weiterbildung: Illustration & Fashion Drawing, FIT, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York City. In München: Visual Communications, Wildner Akademie, Zeichnen & Malerei Studien, Akthof, Aktzeichen & Anatomisches Zeichnen, Akademie für Bildende Künste.
