Faustina Bordoni and Fox
Item
- Title
-
Faustina Bordoni and Fox
- Rights
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art, European Sculpture and Decorative Arts. Public Domain.
- Creator
- Modeler: Johann Joachim Kändler (German, 15 June 1706-18 May 1775)
- Date
- c. 1743
- Description
-
This ceramics-porcelain figure created by Meissen Manufactory modeler Johann Joachim Kändler portrays mid eighteenth-century opera star Faustina Bordoni (30 March 1697-4 November 1781) singing while sitting across from a fox playing the harpsichord. An acclaimed Italian mezzo-soprano, Bordoni was especially well-known in Dresden operatic circles along with her husband, the celebrated German composer Johann Adolph Hasse, who both performed in the Saxon court of Augustus II.
The couple's high-profile status in Dresden society also garnered critical attention from people like Kändler, whose satirical inclusion of the fox figure references a man named Herr Fuchs (AKA Mr. Fox). Bordoni and Fuchs engaged in a love affair that was highly publicized, with this figure reflecting the popularity of the opera star's public —as well as private— life.
In addition to the carefully decorated floral designs on the figure's base and Bordoni's skirt, viewers can observe the extreme attention to detail that supports Kändler's reputation as a major influence in European porcelain work through the carefully painted Italian lyrics that can be read on the sheet music. Within, the composer that the fox plays is named as Bordoni's husband, Hasse. - Format
- Hard-paste porcelain figure. 6 x 11 x 6 3/4 in.
- Language
- Italian
- Publisher
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- Contributor
- Lindsey Cillis
- Identifier
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 64.101.125.
- Subject
- Opera performance; opera; singing; singer; prima donna; harpsichord; Dresden opera.
- Source
- JPEG files. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Digital Collection. Unknown photographer. 10/05/2023. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/203128.
- Item sets
- Le Prime Donne-Lindsey C.
