Abstract: This article is dedicated to portrait images in Western European porcelain of the XVIII century. Research is conducted on the works created in various European countries, such as Germany (Meissen), France (Sevres), Austria (Vienna), and England (Wedgwood Pottery Manufactory). Prominent masters of porcelain –Kendler, Boizot, Grassi – are the authors of the portraits. Sculptural portrait images of August III – painter of the court of the French Queen Marie Antoinette and the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II are notable for exquisite artistic merit. The article reviews porcelain sculpture, as well as oil painted portraits. Interpretation of the images manifests the features of three styles characteristic to art of the XVIII century: Baroque, Rococo and Classicism. Portrait images reflect the themes typical to the Age of Enlightenment. The article describes the peculiarities of the creations of artists who worked in various European porcelain manufactories. Research methodology is based on the detailed stylistic analysis of the works of Baroque, Rococo and Classicism; fundamental examination of the works in historical sequence for determining the evolutionary changes; comparative analysis for revealing national and authorial specificities. The novelty is defined by the fact that this article is first to comprehensively analyze the portrait images in porcelain of such countries as Germany, France, and Austria of the XVIII century, as well as in identification of the features characteristic to different artists.

Abstract: The article takes a look at the works of various porcelain manufactories: Italian Docchia, German Meissen and Nymphenburg, Viennese and French Sèvres. These works are subject to allegorical interpretation and symbolic meaning. This content feature is one of the characteristic features of Baroque and Rococo art. The author pays particular attention to the identification of allegorical attributes and specific elements of form and decor that carry symbolic meaning. Porcelain artifacts, the authors of which are prominent European masters (Soldani, Kändler, Eberlein, Bustelli, Niedermeier and Fournier), are examined in detail. These kinds of decorative and applied arts reflected the unique worldview of a person living in the 18th century - the period of Enlightenment. The following methods of art history laid the foundation for this study: the formal-stylistic and iconological analyses of porcelain artifacts, which enabled the author to identify the semantic content of examined images. The scientific novelty of this article lies in the fact that for the first time in Russian art studies, a comprehensive study of the works of 18th-century porcelain crafts from different countries was carried out in order to identify their symbolic meanings. A detailed study of these works gives the author reason to conclude that bestowing artifacts with symbolic content is characteristic of Baroque and Rococo art, and that these works reflected one of the features of the figurative art system of the 18th century.