Schwetzingen - Schlösser-Magazin

Idolino. 17 Both porticoes are deliberately simple
in appearance; early Classicist doctrine held
that the inherent nobility of the shapes was
best presented in this way.
Interior
The bathhouse’s central room is the Oval
Hall, not, as might have been expected, the
bathroom. It was designed by Pigage as a “salon
à l’italienne”. Wall niches contain four statues
that might be interpreted as personifications
of the times of day. Surmounting them are
medallions depicting the seasons. Beneath
them, griffins support marble consoles. The
mezzanine within the tambour is decorated
with stucco reliefs by Giuseppe Pozzi (1732-
1811) depicting cherubs and garlands of
flowers. The oval 18 painting on the ceiling is
entirely flat, without any suggestion of a dome,
and enclosed within a wreath of oak leaves
in gilt wood. It is a painting in oils on canvas,
and was fastened to the ceiling as a “quadro
riportato”. The artist was Nicolas Guibal, a court
painter from Württemberg, and the subject is
“Aurora chasing away the night”. 19
The hours, the seasons and Aurora as the rising
dawn, are symbolic of the passing time which
carries Man along with it, a fate he cannot
escape.
Two anterooms adjoin the Oval Hall; they are
part of the suite of “function” rooms but also by
their very nature belong to the living quarters
on the narrow sides of the building. Painted
a bright pink, they give access to the Elector’s
private rooms. Their Classicist décor includes
reeds, shells, cherubs and swans, and refers to
the pleasures of the bath, and quite possibly
those of physical love as well.
The anterooms give access to four corner
rooms. They surround the Oval Hall with its
17 The bronze original of the Idolino is a Roman copy, dating
from the 1st century BC, of a Greek sculpture of the High
Classical era associated with the sculptor Polyklet. The statue,
discovered in 1530 near Pesaro, belonged to the Duke of
Urbino. It has been part of the Medici collection since 1630. At
first it was displayed in the Uffizi; today it is in the Archaeological
Museum in Florence.
18 More oval ceiling paintings by Nicolas Guibal have been
preserved at Monrepos (“Adonis leaving Venus”) and Schloss
Solitude (“Allegory of the wealth of the country”).
19 The biography of Nicolas Guibal in the appendices contains a
detailed description.
III. Architectural Features
“dayrise” theme, and might be interpreted as
representing the times of day.
On the east side are a study and the so-called
Chinese Room; in the west are the bathroom
and bedroom.
The Chinese Room has oak wainscoting with
four inset panels covered with imported
Chinese wallpaper. The paper depicts small
figures of craftsmen and peasants going about
their business against a landscape background.
Flanking the chimneypiece were consoles made
by the Frankenthal porcelain manufactory
supporting figures in the fashionable Chinese
style. The consoles and figures have been lost
but will be replaced. The furniture includes a
replica of the original porcelain chandelier by
Franz Conrad Linck, four corner cupboards and
four chairs.
The study is the most elaborate of the rooms,
with wainscoting of polished walnut, jacaranda,
mahogany and rosewood. The room has an
alcove flanked by two Corinthian columns.
Here Pigage uses a motif familiar from throne
and audience rooms – the Corinthian order is
reserved for rulers. The furniture one would
expect is a grand chair draped with an ermine
cloak, and a coat of arms. The bathhouse,
however, was intended for Carl Theodor the
private gentleman, and so the alcove contains a
daybed, and the wall behind is decorated with a
landscape painting.
What draws the eye in the study are seven
landscapes by Court Painter Ferdinand Kobell. 20
They fill the height and breadth of the small
room, in a way reproducing the view into the
garden and making the room appear larger
than it is. Mirrors installed above the fireplace
and on the narrow sides of the alcove add to
this effect. The landscapes serve to blur the
room’s boundaries; through the window the
spectator sees a garden landscape no different
in type than the ones painted on the walls.
It is only logical that the bedroom should
face west towards the setting sun. The bed is
placed in an alcove that can be shut off with
curtains. A bed of this type was useless for
20 See also the biography of Ferdinand Kobell in the appendices.
III.
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