Frederick the Great c. 1840

Curator: This drawing is titled "Frederick the Great," crafted circa 1840 by the German artist Philipp Veit. The piece, rendered in ink, resides here at the Städel Museum. Editor: Immediately, I sense a certain starkness. There's this ghostly figure amidst what looks like a spindly forest—or maybe just a collection of wayward lines aspiring to be trees? Curator: The linework is indeed economical, characteristic of Veit's approach. The drawing offers a portrait within the Romantic style, capturing the Prussian monarch Frederick the Great, distinguishable by his crown. His figure dominates the pictorial space through a somewhat attenuated application of detail. Editor: The Romantic spirit pulses! Veit almost strips him bare, yet there's this defiant stillness. What's that perched upon his fist—an unruly bird of prey ready for the hunt, or something tamer, resigned to this historical tableau? Curator: Observe the way Veit employs washes of ink to suggest volume and texture, in contrast to the thin, wiry outlines. It evokes a dream-like, perhaps allegorical state of being, where the historical merges with the mythic through symbolic rendering, like the dog near the robe. Editor: The king's gaze floats upward. Is he pleading for strength, reliving some glorious conquest, or, dare I say, seeking refuge from a really bad hair day under that slightly wonky crown? The sketchy marks really work. The lines have energy—almost like Frederick is dreaming his own biography. Curator: In examining this figuration within Veit's historical oeuvre, we notice an approach oscillating between strict representation and romanticized idealism. The figure of Frederick operates not merely as a likeness but also as a symbolic vehicle. Editor: Perhaps, beyond just a symbol, this is an encounter with the solitude of power, the dream that shapes an era, caught in simple yet unnerving lines. Frederick's shadow, after all, lives still in our stories. Curator: Precisely. Veit has given us much to consider regarding historical legacy through this unique portrait of form.