Description
Featuring a Playful Scene
From our Ceramics collection, we are pleased to offer this KPM Porcelain Plaque Mother and Child. The KPM plaque framed within the original gesso frame with velvet mount and central rectangular porcelain plaque mounted in portrait. The plaque features a beautifully executed painting after the original by Hugo Oehmichen (1843-1932) named Mutter mit Kind (Mother and Child) and has a central painting of a mother playing with her child balancing on the top of a unit as a bundle of kittens play with a ball of yarn below. The KPM plaque is mounted to the rear with an exhibition label for the Wakefield Scientific and Fine Art Exhibition 1881 and is complete with the KPM sceptre mark to the top right. The KPM Porcelain Plaque dates to the second half of the 19th century circa 1870.
Provenance Exhibited at the Wakefield Scientific and Fine Art Exhibition 1881
KPM (Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur – The Royal Porcelain Factory) in Berlin was founded in 1763 Frederick the Great (King Frederick II). Its actual origins, however, lie in three private enterprises which, under crown patronage, were trying to establish the production of “white gold” (porcelain) in Berlin from the mid-18th century onwards.The company logo is a sceptre, which is stamped (painted prior to 1837) or incised on every piece. All painted pieces produced by KPM are also signed by the painter. KPM is still producing porcelain today.
Hugo Oehmichen was born in Borsdorf as the son of a business owner. After losing his mother at a young age, his family moved to Brockwitz (now part of Coswig) near Meissen. As a child, Oehmichen developed a keen interest in puppet theater and craftsmanship. Frequent visits to his brother’s workshop, where his brother was an art locksmith, inspired him to pursue a similar path. His first exposure to drawing came through attending Sunday school lessons alongside his brother. Noticing his talent, his drawing teacher, Köhler, offered him private lessons.
Köhler later recommended Oehmichen to the drawing and painting school at the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Meissen. Impressed by the young Oehmichen, the school’s director, Carl Scheinert, arranged for him to study at the Royal Academy in Dresden. From 1857 to 1864, Oehmichen studied there under prominent artists such as Julius Hübner and Adolf Ehrhardt. His talent was quickly recognized: he won the Academy’s small silver medal in 1862, and in 1864, he received the small gold medal for his painting Blessing of the Grandfather, which was purchased by the Saxon king.
In 1866-1867, Oehmichen traveled to Rome, where he painted scenes of the Campagna. Upon his return to Dresden in 1867, his work The First Church Visit After Recovery led his mentor, Julius Hübner, to recommend that he move to Düsseldorf, where moral painting—an area where Oehmichen showed particular skill—was more popular. In Düsseldorf, Oehmichen was influenced by artists like Ludwig Knaus and Benjamin Vautier, and he began focusing on genre scenes from everyday life.
Around 1870, Oehmichen settled in Düsseldorf and, under Vautier’s influence, continued to produce genre paintings. One notable work from this period, inspired by the Franco-Prussian War, depicts the moment a soldier’s death is reported to his wife. This painting was well-received by critics and sold to England, with a second version acquired by the Städtische Galerie in Wiesbaden.
In 1871, Oehmichen married his cousin, Emma Dietrich, the daughter of a landowner from Böhlitz (now part of Mutzschen). They had several children, including Hans Oehmichen, who later became a mine director. Family life and the world of his children at home and school provided Oehmichen with rich material for his genre paintings. He also depicted rural and small-town life in Germany, drawing inspiration from his travels along the Moselle, in Swabia, the Upper Rhine, Hesse, and Westphalia. His painting Der Steuerzahlungstag, inspired by an experience in the town hall of Rheinfelden and later purchased by the Dresdner Galerie, is an example of this.
Many of Oehmichen’s works were reproduced as engravings, helping his art reach a wider audience. He was also a member of the artists’ association “Malkasten” in Düsseldorf.
Measurements Frame 52cm High x 45cm Wide x 5.5cm High | Plaque Approximately 22.5cm High x 16cm Wide (Frame 20.5 x 17.7 x 2.17 | Plaque 8.85 x 6.3 inches)
Condition Very Good
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