Portret van Frederik de Grote als Romeins keizer 1776

This is Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki’s diminutive etching of Frederick the Great depicted as a Roman Emperor. In the 18th century, Prussia, under Frederick's rule, was asserting its power on the European stage. Chodowiecki, living and working in Berlin, was enmeshed in this environment of burgeoning national pride and ambition. Here, Frederick is not merely a king, but a symbolic figure, styled after the leaders of antiquity, suggesting timeless authority. Yet, this portrayal also complicates the notion of leadership and national identity. Frederick's leadership was marked by both enlightenment and autocracy, expansionism, and reform. The artist’s work invites us to reflect on how leaders are remembered, and what aspects of their legacies are amplified or suppressed. What does it mean to cloak a modern ruler in the garments of ancient emperors? Perhaps the artwork can cause us to consider how each generation reinvents its heroes, selectively embracing elements of the past to legitimize present ambitions.