The Flute Concert of Frederick the Great

Adolph Menzel worked for two years on this painting, completed in 1852. Frederick the Great stands at center playing his traverse flute at his summer palace of Sanssouci, bathed in golden candlelight. At the harpsichord sits Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. The king's favorite sister, Wilhelmine von Bayreuth, listens from a sofa.

One figure stands apart: a man leaning idly against the wall shows little interest in the concert, it is Johann Joachim Quantz, the king's flute teacher. Menzel was celebrated for his historical accuracy, yet the painting shows almost impressionistic handling of light and shadow. The flute stand divides musicians from royal guests. Though known for his realism, Menzel avoided dramatic overstatement. He became the first painter admitted to the Order of the Black Eagle, Prussia's highest honor. The work measures 142 x 205 cm and hangs at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.