Die Zeichenschule 2026

THE MEISSEN DRAWING SCHOOL - PAINTING TO ITS HIGHEST PERFECTION - Since 1764.The Drawing School is the start of a targeted training in the Meissen manufactory. Its existence takes account of the fact that training the interplay of eye and hand is an important practical preparation for the arts and crafts professions. Talent is a good prerequisite, but it alone is not enough to reach the goal. That is why porcelain designers and porcelain painters who have been working in the profession for a long time help apprentices to internalise important experiences in observing, recognising and depicting.In 1720, the 24-year-old Johann Gregorius Höroldt came from Vienna to Meissen to work for the porcelain manufactory. In a very short time he found many recipes for ceramic colours and, what was special, he also processed them. Höroldt lead porcelain decoration to its first artistic peak in the 18th century. Today, the manufactory associates his name not only with the memory of the most creative porcelain painter of the 18th century - he was the creator of most of the decorations that were created for porcelains of the Meissen manufactory between 1720 and 1764 - but also with the founder of the drawing lessons. Although these lessons could not yet be called systematic training, it was a first step. An improvement occurred when Johann Joachim Kaendler joined the manufactory in 1731, at the age of 25, and soon afterwards, in 1734, became model master. In 1740 he took over the direction of mould design in the manufactory and devoted himself to training in this context. He regularly gave lessons in drawing and modelling. In 1743, the painter and architect Carl Heinrich Jacob Fehling from Dresden took over the training of the "Lehr-Purschen" (apprentices). He was the first person to teach exclusively in the manufactory. Assistants helped, successors followed - and so the commitment of individuals eventually led to the establishment of a drawing school. In 1764, the drawing school, known as the "Meissen Art School" and subordinate to the Dresden Academy of Arts, was founded. The court painter Christian Wilhelm Ernst Dietrich was put in charge. He held this office until 1770. After that, the drawing school was again under the direct influence of the Meissen manufactory. The process of changing subordination was repeated from 1814 to 1836. In 1893, the school was even dissolved and gifted students were delegated to the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts. The realisation that an in-house training was the most favourable solution led to the manufactory taking over the management of the draing school again in 1906. The focus was increasingly on recruiting outstanding artists from the company's own work-shops to teach at the school.This principle determined the training over the decades - during the Weimar Republic from 1918 to 1933, the period of National Socialism from 1933 to 1945, the era of the GDR from 1945 to 1990 - right up to the present day. One generation passes its treasure on to the next. The treasure is knowledge, skill, experience, joy and discipline. In the entire history of the Meissen Drawing School since its foundation in 1764, a drawing teacher deserves special mention and recognition. In 1983, after completing her apprenticeship as a porcelain painter specialising in flower painting, Kordula Hieronymus, who was 23 years old at the time and the first woman to do so, took over the management of the drawing school. She earned her spurs in production and then completed a master's training and an accompanying pedagogical degree so that she could take over the management of the drawing school with a clear conscience. She then did so with total commitment and passion for 41 years, until she took her well-deserved retirement in July 2024. The Meissen Drawing School will continue to exist for decades to come, paving the way for many students to become manufactory artists.