Cossacks marauding in Prussia

It is a cruel moment to see this scene on the picture, but I am also in love with this: there are so fantastic miniatures, done by Ian Kay, plenty of details and superb proportions (Irregular Miniatures - 42mm). The farmer girl is of El Viejo Dragon (1/43 Roman slave), but she matches well with the Russian lads on this round base. It is a kind of "the beauty and the beast" what  inspired me.
This was my first order at Irregular Miniatures and I am more than happy with this small art pieces.

So, shortly, I just combined them with my existing Cossacks of Matthias-Manske and made a short setting of a marauding unit in a burning village - as well known from contemporary descriptions of the battles of Kunersdorf and Zorndorf.

Manske-Cossacks advancing on the left...

This are the second two figures of Irregular miniatures: The Ataman of the Cossack horde and a private with the typical flag

a Manske-Cossack

It is a mistaken photo, but I like it :-)

2 Cossacks (Irregular miniatures)

Les Baigneuses of the 18. century

Today I present you a quite famous and oftenly found motive of the contemporary art of the 18. and 19. century: the motive of bathing women or nymphs. The idea is founded on the intention to built a normal pond, how we can find such in every Prussian and Silesian village of the 18. century
 - till today.

See this postcards I found by combing through Polish and German sites about East-Prussia:

Lake Schwentainen, Masuria, Poland;
source: Doliwa-Naturfoto.de

source: Doliwa-Naturfoto.de

pond in Mensguth Dorf, Ortelsburg district, former Prussia
source: www.Bildarchiv-Ostpreussen.de

But the object seemed to be too boring to be placed simply on the tabletop as a decorative element between the rural buildings around our battles. Having irregular troops like Cossacks and Prussian hussars and Jaegers, it could be a piquant detail to add some nude girls, having a bath in the pond.
If the Cossacks will harass them or the Prussians will defend them by time, we will see later.

This motive is also a theme in the classical art - nearly every painter used the motive of bathing nymphs in his work - it gives me also the excuse to be in a good society...  I risk to be spammed in google by showing naked bodies, but I hope, you will put your intellectual glasses on and interpretate my post as a contribution to an all-embracing knowledge of the life of the 18. century...
Thank you, gentlemen.

The figures are some of S+D 1/43 miniatures from UK, the ladies free of of clothes from the Spanish manufacturer El Viejo Dragon - a rare and excellent range of Roman Bath scenes. I gave them a pale skin and lighter, fair hair to match better in the Prussian-Polish context. That´s all. I forgot: It was also a nice occasion to experiment with the artificial water effect from NOCH, a sort of guck with a lot of options in modelling.

A nice couple of S+D Miniatures: girl pets a dachshund

Paul Cézanne: les baigneuses

Pierre Auguste Renoir, Baigneuses

Pierre Auguste Renoir, Baigneuses 2

Thanks to abdul666, who wrote me such a kind comment with this image linked, I put that here - it matches well with the theme. ..
source: http://p.joux.graphiste.free.fr/Histoire%20Web/18emeWeb/img18m/rgtBigorre.jpg

Member of the Nuernberger Zinnfiguren Association VFZ

carriage of Frederick II.;30mm  flat figures; painted by Werner Fechner

Since yesterday evening I am member of the VFZ in Nuernberg, the Zinnfiguren Association, which exists already sind more than 50 years. There are some really good fellows there with absolutely fantastic painting techniques. The conventions are also always a good fund to get more informations about uniforms, equipments and staff of the 18. century.
Especially this carriage is an object of desire for me - it would be great to have such in 40mm scale, including the coachman and the footboys in hussar dolmans...

Next example is done by Mr. Mutzbauer, a scenery of the late 17. century about the uniforms of Kurbayern in 54mm. The tree looks extremely realistic, but it isn´t wood, it´s lead. Absolutely great how they are painted.

Two Kleist hussars (Matthias-Manske), painted by Kremper sen. and jun.

And my newest vignette - easily visible that - in comparision to the background piece -  I have to improve my painting skills...

The link to the Association: http://www.vfz-ev.de/