PRESS RELEASE

POPE FRANCIS BLESSES MODEL OF PETER THE APOSTLE IN MEI S SEN PORCELAIN

FIGURINE PRESENTED I N VATICAN WITH FOND A- ZIONE PRO MUSICA E A R T E S A C R A

Meissen/, 31 January 2018. The Meissen Manufactory was able to present the Holy Father, Francis, with a model of Peter the Apostle in Meissen porcelain in the Vatican on 24 January as a token of its particular esteem for sacred art. Meissen’s Chief Executive Officer Georg Nussdor- fer handed the figurine over during a private meeting. was visibly moved as he accep- ted the Apostle Peter figurine and blessed it. It will now be prominently displayed in the papal chambers. “Handing the Holy Father such a momentous work of religious art from the Manufacto- ry was a great honour for Meissen and for me personally too”, Mr Nussdorfer enthused after- wards. “His blessing serves as unique affirmation of our creative endeavours.”

The presentation was made in the context of a choral concert supported by Fondazione pro Musi- ca e Arte Sacra, with whom Meissen has been working since 2017. The Foundation promotes ecumenical music projects involving the papal choir Cappella Musicale Pontificia “Sistina” amongst other things. An invitation to this year’s annually held communal concert had been extended to the Stadtsingechor from the eastern German city of Halle an der Saale, one of the most celebrated child and youth choirs in Europe. Meissen was likewise invited to the event by the Foundation, thus further deepening the cooperative bonds between the two.

Ecclesiastical porcelains played a key role from very early on in the manufactory’s history. The first crucifix, a miniaturised version of Permoser’s Christ on the Cross, dates right back to 1719. In 1736, King August III had a set of liturgical items in Meissen porcelain sent to Rome as a gift to his friend, Cardinal Annibale Albani, an influential nephew of Pope Clement XI. The Manufactory’s then Modeller-in-Chief, Johann Joachim Kaendler, produced the apostles Peter and Paul, amongst other pieces, for the assignment.

The negative of his original model of Apostle Peter, comprising 25 plaster moulds in all, is one of the oldest sets of moulds still held by the Manufactory. Kaendler also created the Manufactory’s largest ever religious figure group, a crucifixion scene made up of 17 separate sections, in 1743.

In over 40 years of artistic output, Kaendler was decisive in shaping Meissen’s identity and setting new benchmarks. The Manufactory established in 1710 has remained a byword for unique crafts- manship and supreme visual allure ever since. Meissen is one of the oldest and globally most familiar German brands, immediately recognisable by virtue of the crossed swords in blue that have always been painted on by hand. It is this commitment to a cultural asset and particularly cherishable legacy that Meissen shares with Fondazione Pro Musica e Arte Sacra. The two organi- sations are natural allies in that they both aspire to nurture ecclesiastical art in a fitting manner and ensure it is worthily presented.

0 1 / 0 2

CON TACT M E I S S E N SANDRA JÄSCHKE, DIRECTOR COMMUNICATIONS/ PR + 49 3521-468290 [email protected]

0 2 / 0 2