Isabella from the Commedia dell'arte
Franz Anton Bustelli
Nymphenburg Porcelain Factory, ca 1760
Hard-paste porcelain with onglaze colours and gold
19,7 cm
Inv.-Nr. 77/50
Acquired in 1977
Gallery 100
The loving couple Octavio and Isabella are the hero and heroine of the Commedia dell'arte, an impromptu form of theatre from Italy which was extremely popular throughout Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. The protagonists, typed characters, were made by almost all German porcelain factories. All sixteen superbly painted comedy figures designed by the Nymphenburg modeler Bustelli have been preserved in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum. They are not only among the finest exemplars of their type but are in fact regarded as one of porcelain sculpture’s highest achievements. This is not least due to Bustelli's uncanny ability to capture figures in lively suspended motion, thus recreating the unique atmosphere of theatre.
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
