(St. Michael/Eppan 1704–1761)
Two cabinet paintings, The love letter and The interrupted lovers,
oil on copper, each 12.2 x 16.5 cm, framed (2)

Provenance:
Sotheby’s auction, London, 10 July 2008, lot 252;
European private collection

We are grateful to Dr Christina Pucher who confirmed both paintings as Platzer’s original works and who will publish them in her catalogue raisonné (in preparation). A comprehensive certificate from September 2012 is available for both paintings.

Dr Pucher writes: “The two cabinet pieces are reminiscent of scenes of the Commedia dell’arte narrating the twists of love and the labours of lovers. These so-called scènes galantes offer a mirror of their time, in which the search for pleasure was the main occupation of Platzer’s choice clientèle. As genre scenes, these are typical Rococo themes. In The love letter Platzer depicts a well-off elderly man seated at a table and a young, beautiful woman with an earnest face in a light blue silk dress bent over him. He proudly presents his wealth, a pouch with coins, on which the number 6,000 is written. Unbeknownst to the elderly man, the servant passes a letter to the beautiful woman. At the door a secret lover waits for an answer, hidden incognito behind a mask. A graphic print on the wall displays a couple in a frivolous pose and noticeably refers once again to the amorous content of the painting. By the table covered with a magnificent red carpet, a female servant supports the betrayal, as she attempts to steer the attention of the elderly man toward a plate of fine fruits and a carafe of heady wine. Pendant to The love letter are the Interrupted lovers who receive a surprise visit. The young woman in a red dress with a yellow a bodice holds her needlework on her lap. She turns cautiously, with slightly flushed cheeks, toward the inquisitive old man entering. Her young lover hides under the table, which is cloaked in a magnificent yellow-blue patterned carpet, and curiously peeks out from underneath. The girl in the background spins wool and unashamedly stares at the old troublemaker while a girl in the left third of the painting rapidly hangs a sheet in order to hide a further visitor. Both look out from the painting at the viewer, as if they symbolically wish to seek consent for their actions. Whether the old father suddenly comes home or whether the old man surprises his bride with a visit, and the question of what entanglements will arise from his arrival, is all left to the imagination of the beholder.

Genre scenes comprise a large portion of Platzer’s entire oeuvre. Platzer’s mastery is evident in the excellent command of artistic techniques. With his special painting technique and brushwork, he achieves a colouration that, with the finest nuances and iridescence, is similar to an enamel surface […]“. Dr Pucher refers to two of Platzer’s comparable compositions in the Alte Galerie of the Landesmuseum Joanneum in Graz. She dates the present painting to a period around 1730-35.