bavarikon4UDescription
The stained-glass picture shows King Frederick the Great (1712-1786) in a richly embroidered uniform with an orange-coloured sash draped across his shoulder and an ermine coat around his hip. The lower half of the image is decorated in its centre by a coat of arms with the imperial eagle carried by two savage-looking men and surrounded by gilded rocailles (scroll work). Left and right of the coat of arms, the Latin inscription "FRIDERICUS REX BORUSSIAE" (engl: King Frederick of Prussia) can be seen. Two small secondary figures flank the ruler: on the left is an ensign with tricorne, lance and sword and on the right a grenadier with a grenade in his hand. The stained-glass picture is signed by Johann Matthäus Bauhoff (1716-1788) and dated to the year 1764. Bauhoff was a weaver in Kaufbeuren and probably conducted the business of stained-glass painting as a sideline. As model served a copperplate print by the Augsburg engraver Philipp Andreas Kilian (1714-1759). Five further exemplars of the Frederick portraits are known, two of which are probably lost. During the early modern period, Kaufbeuren was one of the bi-confessional imperial cities. Numerous conflicts between the Catholic and the Protestant population left their mark on the city’s atmosphere. From the mid-eighteenth century onwards, therefore stained-glass pictures were created against this background with a Protestant imagery and message intention. Among these is a series of portraits of Frederick II who since 1740 had been king of Prussia and elector of Brandenburg and was considered one of the more popular rulers in the Protestant territories of southern German.
Author
Susanne Sagner / Petra Weber