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The Flute Concert of Frederick the Great at Sanssouci
Adolph Menzel · Realism & Academic
- Artist
- Adolph Menzel (1815–1905)
- Date
- 1850–1852
- Dimensions
- 142 x 205 cm
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Location
- Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
This painting shows King Frederick II of Prussia playing the flute at an evening concert in the music room of his palace of Sanssouci in Potsdam. Musicians accompany him, and courtiers and ladies listen in the candlelit Rococo room glittering with gold and mirrors.
A closer look
Frederick the Great was a passionate flautist and composer who gave regular concerts at his court. Menzel, who had illustrated a famous biography of the king, reconstructed the scene a century later with meticulous historical research. At the harpsichord sits Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, son of Johann Sebastian, and behind the king stands his flute teacher Johann Joachim Quantz. The real subject, however, is the light: the flickering of dozens of candles reflected in the mirrors and gilded decoration, painted with an almost Impressionist freedom.
