On December 24, 1793, the future King of Prussia married Friedrich Wilhelm III. Luise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1776-1810), his brother Ludwig (1773-1796), married Friederike (1778-1841), Luise's younger sister, two days later.
KPM ICONS
THE PRINCESS GROUP
KPM ICONS
THE PRINCESS GROUP
On December 24, 1793, the future King of Prussia married Friedrich Wilhelm III. Luise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1776-1810), his brother Ludwig (1773-1796), married Friederike (1778-1841), Luise's younger sister, two days later.
The court sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow made a life-size clay model of the two crown princesses in 1795 on behalf of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II, shortly after the two sisters married his sons. At the same time, a smaller version of the PRINCESS GROUP was produced in bisque porcelain for the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin, which is recorded in the model book in August 1796 under the model number 1246. In addition, the double statue of the two princesses was also made of marble and completed in 1797. Not only the king, who chose the sisters as wives for his sons, other contemporaries were impressed by the youthful beauty of the two.
Goethe wrote in 1793 that one can
"I consider the two young ladies to be heavenly apparitions whose impression on me will never go away"
"I consider the two young ladies to be heavenly apparitions whose impression on me will never go away"
This fascination not only applied to the people portrayed themselves; Schadow's work also caused a great stir when it was presented at the Berlin Academy exhibition in September 1797. The sculptor exhibited the life-size marble version of the PRINCESS GROUP there (temporarily in the vestibule of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin), while smaller versions were made for sale in bisque porcelain at the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin. A noble severity - in the spirit of classicism - combined with the grace of the subject, continues to enchant the viewer to this day and is considered a major work of early Berlin classicism, similar to Schadow's Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate from 1793.
In 1795, shortly after the marriage of the two sisters and his sons, the court sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow made a life-size clay model of the two crown princesses on behalf of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II. At the same time, a smaller version of the PRINCESS GROUP was produced in bisque porcelain for the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin, which is recorded in the model book in August 1796 under the model number 1246. In addition, the double statue of the two princesses was also made of marble and completed in 1797. Not only the king, who chose the sisters as wives for his sons, other contemporaries were impressed by the youthful beauty of the two.
Goethe wrote in 1793 that one can
"I consider the two young ladies to be heavenly apparitions whose impression on me will never go away"
"I consider the two young ladies to be heavenly apparitions whose impression on me will never go away"
This fascination not only applied to the people portrayed themselves; Schadow's work also caused a great stir when it was presented at the Berlin Academy exhibition in September 1797. The sculptor exhibited the life-size marble version of the PRINCESS GROUP there (temporarily in the vestibule of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin), while smaller versions were made for sale in bisque porcelain at the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin. A noble severity - in the spirit of classicism - combined with the grace of the subject, continues to enchant the viewer to this day and is considered a major work of early Berlin classicism, similar to Schadow's Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate from 1793.
The court sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow made a life-size clay model of the two crown princesses in 1795 on behalf of the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm II, shortly after the two sisters married his sons. At the same time, a smaller version of the PRINCESS GROUP was produced in bisque porcelain for the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin, which is recorded in the model book in August 1796 under the model number 1246. In addition, the double statue of the two princesses was also made of marble and completed in 1797. Not only the king, who chose the sisters as wives for his sons, other contemporaries were impressed by the youthful beauty of the two.
Goethe wrote in 1793 that one can
"I consider the two young ladies to be heavenly apparitions whose impression on me will never go away"
"I consider the two young ladies to be heavenly apparitions whose impression on me will never go away"
This fascination not only applied to the people portrayed themselves; Schadow's work also caused a great stir when it was presented at the Berlin Academy exhibition in September 1797. The sculptor exhibited the life-size marble version of the PRINCESS GROUP there (temporarily in the vestibule of the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin), while smaller versions were made for sale in bisque porcelain at the Royal Porcelain Manufactory in Berlin. A noble severity - in the spirit of classicism - combined with the grace of the subject, continues to enchant the viewer to this day and is considered a major work of early Berlin classicism, similar to Schadow's Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate from 1793.
EXTENSIVE HANDMADE
Elaborate handwork
The Royal Porcelain Manufactory still produces this exquisite group of figures entirely by hand. For this purpose, 88 individually cast parts in porcelain are assembled and fired using elaborate artistic portrait work to create a new work of art.