Apotheose van Frederik II, koning van Pruisen 1787

Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki made this drawing, "Apotheosis of Frederick II, King of Prussia," with graphite on paper. This is a fascinating example of state-sponsored art, a drawing that imagines the dead Prussian king ascending to the heavens. The image creates meaning through visual codes that would have been very familiar at the time it was made. Consider the conventions of religious painting that Chodowiecki invokes: the upward movement, the clouds, the assembly of figures above. In this image, the king replaces a saint. We need to ask what this kind of imagery does, what kind of symbolic work it performs, and how it reinforces power structures. To understand this work better, we could consult primary source documents about the Prussian court. What was the role of art institutions? What kinds of imagery did they promote? This will allow us to understand the social and institutional contexts in which the drawing was made.