Ref. 2244/1

F.-C. Janneck

Painter (1703-1761)

« The First Meeting »
« The Reading »

Austrian school
Signed F.C. Janneck fc

Circa 1740
Oil on copper

Height : 25,8 cm (10,1 in.) ; Width : 31,2 cm (12,3 in.)
With frame – Height : 36,5 cm (14,4 in.) ; Width : 43,5 cm (17,1 in.)

Elegant pair of oil-on-copper paintings depicting two rural genre scenes, “The First Meeting” and “Reading.” “The First Meeting” depicts the moment when two young people, likely betrothed to one another, meet for the first time. The father, mustachioed and potbellied, invites his daughter to meet the young man he has chosen for her. Somewhat aloof, she turns her back to us and fixes an unflinching gaze on the suitor, her hand on her hip as a sign of reluctance. The young lady-in-waiting, who is adjusting her dress, steals a glance at the young man, who, with a charming air, pulls a bottle of wine from the stream where it had been cooling. Will his good nature and the wine be enough to win over the young woman? The outcome of this encounter may lie in the landscape, enhanced by delicate glazes ranging from blue to cream, depicting a vast landscape and a wide blue sky, perhaps mirroring the young man’s psyche,in contrast to the young woman’s tormented and hostile state of mind, symbolized by the forest.

 “The Reading” could be seen as the future of its counterpart. Here, the couple is already established, the parents of the little boy and girl, in the midst of a reading session. Everyone is absorbed in the young woman’s story; the weather is pleasant, wine is being enjoyed, and loyalty reigns, as evidenced by the dog; in short, it’s a time for relaxation. Far removed from the preconceptions of a first encounter, “The Reading” extols the virtues and joys of family life and marriage.

As with many 17th- and 18th-century works inspired by the Northern Schools, humor and morality intertwine in pictorial aphorisms, suggesting that this pair of copper plates encouraged its, or rather, its original female, owner to remain hopeful about the future, even if, at first glance, a marriage of convenience might put an end to other aspirations.  

related work

Another pair of paintings, this time on panel, is housed at the Belvedere in Vienna (inv. nos. 4179 and 4181), where Janneck once again demonstrates his skill in rendering glazes.   

biography 

Franz Christoph Janneck was a painter born in Graz in 1716. He trained in the studio of Matthias Vangus in Vienna, where he was active from 1721 to 1728. He then studied under Joseph Orient in Frankfurt am Main until 1731. It is likely that he was then introduced to the paintings of the Northern Schools—Flemish, Dutch, and Rhenish—which greatly influenced his work. Most of his surviving works show a marked Flemish influence, particularly from painters such as Jan Brueghel the Elder and David Teniers the Younger. In 1736, he returned to Vienna, where he died in 1761.