The Kaiser's men’s medals

[TabsTabs1964]

Between Bismarck and the emperor, the Bavarian general Jakob von Hartmann and the Prussian marshal Leonhard von Blumenthal shake hands. The two have such a prominent position in the painting because they had played a prominent role in the invasion of France and the siege of Paris.



Immediately after the emperor is his son, heir and promoter of the painting: Crown Prince Frederick. The white-coated man on the far left is the Duke of Coburg-Gotha. He was the brother of Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.



The third version, the one that has come down to us, is the one that the government commissioned from the painter to give to Chancellor Otto von Bismarck on the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1885. It is virtually identical to the second version except for a few details....



At the emperor's wish, the Minister of War, Albrecht von Roon, was included in the composition, although he had not been present at the ceremony. To do this, von Werner had to sacrifice the handshake between Jakob von Hartmann and Leonhard von Blumenthal.



The 4th and final version was a huge mural (canvas on wall) for the main hall of a high school in Frankfurt Oder, the painter's hometown. Only this photo survives of it and nothing is known about the canvas since 1945.


Photograph of the place where the fourth version of von Werner's work was

That unexpected trip by the painter Anton von Werner would be the most important of his life. He was introduced to the Emperor, Bismarck, von Moltke and the rest of the leaders present, becoming a sort of official painter of the new empire on his return to Germany.

He was appointed professor at the Berlin Academy of Art in 1873 and was its director from 1875 until his death in 1915. He also directed the National Gallery from 1909. He even gave painting lessons to Wilhelm II, who became emperor after the death of his grandfather and father.



Today, however, he is forgotten, both at home and abroad. In part it is the "curse" of painters who enjoy great fame and success during their lifetime, whose paintings fill national institutions and therefore do not go abroad and are not known.

Werner's conservative view of art clashed head-on with modern art in the 1890s. The artistic production of the Wilhelmine era, represented by Werner, was the victim of a unanimous and radical rejection in German art criticism after the end of World War I and the fall of the monarchy.

I personally love his work. And of course the image I have of the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71 is mainly due to his work.

[TabsTabs1964]

For those nostalgic for Berlin and Unter den Linden of other times, a series of images of the place where the best-known version of this painting we talked about today was....


Aerial view in the 1920s


Hitler's speech in 1941 (under the cannon)


After an allied bombing in 1943. The painting is clearly seen in the background


After WWII


in the 80s

[VtwinVince]

Great deep dive into this iconic image Santi. Most probably know that Wilhelm was not keen on becoming emperor, as he regarded being King of Prussia as a much higher honour (I agree with that sentiment), and his coronation in the Stadtschloss at Koenigsberg in 1861 was a major event which he didn't want to have usurped by the events at Versailles. It took the assurance that he would be both King of Prussia and Emperor of Germany to get him on board, hence documents start with 'Wir Wilhelm, von Gottes Gnaden Koenig von Preussen'.