[02a] Friedrich Wilhelm I, the Great Elector Statue #1, Berlin, Germany [front]

Creator

Architect/Sculptor of Monument

Andreas Schlüter (Sculptor)

Student Author

Isaac Lindauer

Preview

Identifier

02a

Medium

carte-de-viste

Keywords

Friedrich Wilhelm I, Great Elector, Friedrich Wilhelm I the Great Elector, Friedrich Wilhelm I Elector of Brandenburg, Germany, Equestrian Statue, Friedrich Wilhelm, Prussia, King of Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, 1713-1740, Europe, History, Western, King, Berlin, Charlottenburg Palace, Sculpture, Baroque, Andreas Schlüter

Physical Dimensions

Height: 100 mm Width: 61 mm

Date of Publication

18uu

Name of Monument

Friedrich Wilhelm I, the Great Elector Statue

Date of Creation of Monument

1708

Date of Completion or Dedication of Monument

1708

City of Monument

Berlin

Location within City

Charlottenburg Palace

State/Province of Monument

Berlin

Country of Monument

Germany

Description

A carte-de-visite photograph of the Equestrian Statue of Friedrich Wilhelm the Great Elector in front of the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin Germany. The statue was created by Andreas Schlüter in 1708 and depicts the Great Elector on horseback with symbolic slaves in chains around the base of the statue.

School of Art/Architecture

Baroque Sculpture

Comments

The statue is of Friedrich Wilhelm the Great Elector (1620-1688), who set the stage for Friedrich Wilhelm I to turn Prussia into a monarchy and become its king. He funded the creation of the statue. The handwritten description on the back of the CdV, “Fred the Great Berlin”, incorrectly identifies the statue as portraying Friedrich Wilhelm II (1744-1797), the great-great-grandson of the Great Elector. The statue currently stands in front of the Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin, Germany (but was originally planned to be on a bridge across the Spree river). The palace was built by Friedrich I (1657-1713) and was completed by Andreas Schlüter, the same artist who created the statue. The palace served as an administrative center for the Prussian monarchy until 1888, by which time it had become the German monarchy. The palace and statue both heavily draw upon a Baroque style of sculpting. The statue itself is on a typical Baroque pedestal, with intricate carvings on the sides and flairs on the corners. It shows the Great Elector on horseback, looking over the plaza while dressed in Roman clothing which was common in the rococo style. Along the base of the statue, there are four men in chains looking up at the Great Elector, signifying the enemies he conquered while commanding the Prussian armies. The military was Prussia’s greatest accomplishment and source of pride, so it was important to represent their victories within this statue.

Open-source collection of photos of the statue and other Schlüter works:

#61 - Andreas Schlüter, von dr. Ernst Benkard. - Full View | HathiTrust Digital Library

Digital Date

1-19-2022

Copyright

Original physical carte-de-viste is in the public domain. Digital copy scanned by Rod Library, ©2022 Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

File Format

image/jpeg