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/

France: supply train with surgeons

Completing the serie of supply trains and ammunition wagons for all our 4 armies, the French got their 2 wagons and, in addition, a small scenery of emergency aid for wounded infanterists on a fast installed and provisional table.  There are 2 surgeons - to seen at their grey coats and red vests, assisted by a nun and 2 artillery lads.
The wagons are Matthias-Manske, with some additions and changes; the figures are composed of Matthias-Manske, some Sash&Saber AWI continental artillerists. The nun is an own work on a S+D miniature (a modified waitress carrying tray) - S+D is a serie for railway settings in 1/43 scale; available in UK by the distributor scalelink.
So, at the last moment of 2013 I have got finished this vignette - it marks also the end of a 3-month period of hard work and stay in China. I wish to everybody a good, successful, happy new year!

The surgeon with willowed sleeves, the Monsieur le Docteur (left) giving some orders

A worker gives some water to the second wounded regular, waiting for the medical treatment...

tiens, prends une goutte!!

Cossacks! (1)

A horde of cossacks is invading the western part of Prussia, marauding and harassing the local population.... this is the common image we have of that population; and contemporary sources told already about their cruelty and ferocity (see my older post about the destiny of the Eastern Prussian town Gumbinnen 1759, just on the eve of the battle of Jaegersdorf - here.)
The cossacks mostly had a non-national self-concept because of their origins in a definition just to be against someone or something (formerly the Zsar, e.g.) - so their community was a basin for outlaws, refugees and haunted people. Their nationalities were different, also their roots. Nowadays, we locate them in Ukraine and in western Russia
For preparing the painting of their dresses, I looked also on russian sites to get more informations about them. Under a huge choice I also found the interesting fact of a cossack culture revival in Ukraine.
This sources gave me the push to paint them in different, individual dresses, but with one colour theme: a sandy, raw umbra, flour and some crimson red accents.
The miniatures are Matthias-Manske figures, placed on separate bases for a skirmish formation. They should be the Russian answer to the Prussian Jaegers.

I changed the colours of the images and took out all the contrast - sorry for that. I was just inspired by the russian film "Taras Bulba" - all around a dusty, sabulous atmosphere....

Jozef Brandt: Cossacks Return from a Campaign (1894).
source: http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/

scene of the russian film "Taras Bulba". 

Mode of life of Ukrainian Cossacks; source: http://ukraine.ui.ua/

just an eyecandy: a cossack girl
source: http://ua-travelling.com/en/article/cossacks-way-of-life

Country guest house late summer 1756

On the eve of the Prussian invasion to Saxony, in august 1756, which ended so unhappily at the siege of Pirna for the Saxon army, we find this little scene in northern Lusatia (Lausitz): a country guest house, which shows us a moment of idyllic atmosphere - or better, typical atmosphere... As we can see, there is already an ugly fight in full swing. A young adolescent, having tried the Saxon Schwarzbier, could not do with it - he provoques the other guests with abusing words and has to be calmed down by a Prussian officer of the Freikorps "Le Noble".

The young rowdy looks a little bit like the young Klaus Kinski..

Officer of the Freikorps "Le Noble" - wearing the most beautiful uniform of the Prussian army, in my opinion.

Klaus Kinski provokes the officer and stands ready for a duel - we hope, the officer will succeed calming him down or giving him a good pounding..

The set I built is a new addition to the tabletop and should decorate the battles as a backdrop. The building has the typical 18th century rural architecture style. The them of a guest house is to be found in the famous scene of Frederick the Great after the battle of Leuthen, stopping for a bite to eat at the Gasthof Saara in Deutsch-Lissa. The innkeeper did not recognize him.

The famous inn, Saara bei Deutsch Lissa on an old postcard.

The miniatures are of different manufacturers: Trident (man with pipe and officer), Eureka (3 Musketeers) and Sash-and-Saber (AWI civilians). The building is made with styrofoam and cardboard.

Madame Bonnacieux with her husband in the background - We imagine, they are huguenots settling in Prussia - this explains the baguette and the bottle of red wine on the table....

The maidservant in the ambulatory

This maidservant brings beer and wine.

A Sash-and-Saber farmer with a Frontrank head

Front view of the guest house.

The entrance to the "Etablissement": The font of "Etablissement" should be the original typography of this period. It is called "Blankenburg" and is available for download as a free font.