A Study of a kneeling Man for 'Friedrich II und die Tänzerin Barbarina'

This drawing by Menzel, arguably the greatest German draughtsman of the 19th century, dates to the early 1850’s and is a preparatory sketch for a painting showing the meeting between Frederick II of Prussia (1712-1786) and the dancer Babara Campanini (1719-1799), known as 'Barbarina', now in a private collection. The painting was one of a series of scenes from the life of Frederick the Great. The scene depicts Frederick II, the Chevalier de Chasôt, General Rudolph von Rothenburg, and Count Francesco Algarotti with the Italian dancer Barbara Campanini. Kugler writes (p. 213): 'After the opera, when she [Barbara Campanini] had danced, he [Frederick] liked to take tea in her cabinet, and sometimes Frederick himself invited her to dinner in intimate company‘ (‚Nach der Oper pflegte er gern, wenn sie getanzt hatte, in ihrem Kabinette den Thee einzunehmen, zuweilen auch ward sie von Friedrich selbst in vertrauter Gesellschaft zum Abendessen eingeladen').

Menzel’s life encompassed the evolution of the Prussian society from the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 to the reign of Emperor Wilhelm II, through the revolution of 1848. A successful artist, he was acclaimed by Prussian court and maintained close relations to the state officials and dignitaries. Throughout his career, Menzel was fascinated by the figure of Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, both as an enlightened sovereign and founder of the Prussian military state. Menzel largely contributed to Frederick's legend as a key figure of the Prussian and German national myth. In 1840, he illustrated Kugler’s History of Frederick the Great, a project which gained him much public recognition and was the basis for the series of paintings.