Frederick the Great playing the flute at court at Potsdam. An early copy in oils of the famous painting by Menzel from 1852
Image size 28 x 30.5"; overall size 35 x 46.5." Signed at lower right "Cop. n[ach] Ad. v Menzel [?by] W. Damm." On canvas, with a large wooden stretcher in a decorative wooden frame gilt.
Provenance
Printed paper label to verso of the Danzig, Poland, art dealer "Louis Schroder Kunsthandlung und Glaserei Danzig Gr. Scharmachergasse Nr. 3 gegenuber Potrvkus & Fuchs."
The painting depicts an 18th-century musical soirée at the palace, with King Frederick himself playing the flute center stage. The monarch’s features as represented in the painting are highly idealized, as Menzel avoids showing Frederick with his aquiline nose, although he must have known of the death mask of the Prussian king.
A chamber ensemble sits in front of Frederick, with an audience of dignitaries and noble ladies in the background. The focus of the work is on Frederick and the ambiance of the interior, with its furniture, chandelier, candlelight, and elaborate dress of the ladies.
The painting features some of the leading musical figures of the day, including:
Johann Joachim Quantz, the king's flute teacher (standing far right)
Franz Benda, Bohemian violinist and composer (on his right with a violin and dark skirt)
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German musician and composer (at the harpsichord)
Gustav Adolf von Gotter, diplomat (foreground at left)
Jakob Friedrich von Bielfeld, German writer and statesman (behind him)
Pierre Louis Maupertuis, French mathematician and philosopher (behind him, looking up)
Wilhelmine von Bayreuth, Frederick's sister (sitting on the pink couch)
Amalie von Preussen, composer and Frederick's sister (on her right, with a court lady)
Carl Heinrich Graun, German composer and the court conductor (behind them)
Countess Camas (elderly lady behind the music stand)
Egmont von Chasot, friend of Frederick (behind her)
Two small (ca. 1/4") holes; one small repair; frame slightly worn and chipped.
The original Menzel painting is in the collection of the State Museum in Berlin.
Item #41414
Price: $1,200.00 other currencies