Lot Essay
The basis for the image of Pfaueninsel Palace beneath the broken glass appears to be a print published by Ludwig Wilhelm Wittich in Berlin in 1829. The print was one of several views of Germany drawn by an artist named Calau, with the print made by Laurens & Thiele (fig. 1). There are minor differences in the figural group, but the angle and detail of the castle itself are the same. Pfaueninsel Palace, still extant, is itself a work of trompe l'oeil. Constructed from wood, the exterior of the palace has been painted to look like stone and was intended to resemble a 'dilapidated Roman country house,' with the stone partially crumbling.
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