Artwork
Making avances after the meal
Making avances after the meal is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Johann Georg Platzer. It dates from 1725 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum.
About this work
Overview
Johann Georg Platzer’s 1725 work, titled *Making Avances after the Meal*, is a copper painting that depicts a domestic genre scene. The composition shows four figures in elaborate eighteenth‑century attire gathered around a table, each engaged in a quiet activity. The piece is part of the collection of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Subject & Meaning
The tableau presents a post‑dinner moment: a gentleman with a pipe, a woman handling a wine bottle, a boy adjusting a violin, and another woman leaning contemplatively over the table. The inclusion of everyday objects—a half‑eaten peach, a cloth, scattered items—suggests a fleeting, intimate glimpse into genteel leisure.
Technique & Style
Executed on copper, the painting employs a chiaroscuro effect, contrasting soft shadows with sharp highlights to model forms. Light catches the ruffled collar of the woman and the bright red of the boy’s hat, drawing attention to facial expressions and gestures while the dark background deepens spatial recession.
History & Provenance
Created in 1725, the work has remained in Austrian collections, ultimately entering the holdings of the Kunsthistorisches Museum. Its provenance reflects the artist’s reputation for finely detailed genre scenes that appealed to aristocratic patrons of the period.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Johann Georg Platzer (1704–1761) was a prolific Austrian Rococo painter and draughtsman.
