Description

History of the Rosenthal factory

Philipp Rosenthal (1855-1937) began business in Germany in 1884. Initially he purchased white ware from the company Hutschenreuther which was resold door to door after being hand-painted by his wife Maria. In 1891, he established a factory in Asch, Bohemia and began production of his own white ware.

Into the twentieth century and a  more affluent Germany emerged with improved living conditions and a disposable income appeared. Rosenthal spotted the unfilled market and started mass scale production of porcelain aimed at the newly emerging market. In only two generations the family firm expanded into a world class player. With a vision for modern art, freelance artists were employed and the interior decoration business began. In 1910 the art department at Selb was founded employing designers such as Himmelstoss, Karner, Oppel, Holzer-Defanti, Liebermann, Cassmann and many others. The same year the factory won the gold medal for it’s quality porcelain at the world fair Paris. Over the decades other factories were acquired in ceramics, glass, utensils and furniture. It’s top quality porcelain is still admired today for the way they captured their subjects movement, form and liveliness.

Leopold Rauth ( 1884 – 1913 ) German painter and graphic artist.

The son of a Leipzig merchant he was a student of the Royal Academy of arts in Leipzig and Berlin studying portrait and nude drawing. After studying in Paris and Venice, Rauth returned to Leipzig in 1909 where he had a meteoric rise in the world of art.

Leo Rauth devoted himself as a graphic designer and the applied arts. His posters were among the best of their kind. In addition, he made etchings, designed bookplates, business cards, postcards, trademarks, book covers and book illustrations .

Rauth’s motifs came from mythology, the fairy tale and the legend, but above all the ceremony and the masquerade of the carnival. In addition, he painted figures from the world of the racecourse, the night cafes and bars, ladies and gentlemen elegantly dressed in fancy costumes or the latest fashion. As an artist, this brought him great popularity, but also the accusation of aestheticism and decadence.

Rauth’s favourite figures included the Pierrot and scenes from the fairy tale Frog Prince. He designed the encounter between princess and frog in six different variants. The company Philipp Rosenthal used Rauth’s frog prince and Liebesschwur as designs for two popular Rosenthal porcelain figurines .

In the remaining three years of his life, he produced an astonishing wealth as a painter and draftsman.