0002Achilles_Westmacott

Two helmeted women, possibly goddesses, stand with a winged putto, and an owl in a classical painting

One of the several paintings part of Rode’s 10-year project “der Soldatenkönig,” depictions of Kaiser Friedrich the Great of Prussia, which were displayed as a group in 1795. “Friedrich the Great as Perseus” is a representation of Friedrich II’s role at the beginning of the Seven Years’ War (1756–1763).

During the Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, the Hapsburg Empress Maria Theresa of Austria dissolved the alliance between her country and Great Britain, and allied instead with France, their long-time enemies, with the intent of taking back lands captured by Friedrich the Great during the previous war. Prussia then promptly forged an alliance with Britain, and marched into Saxony (an ally of Austria with a key geographical location between Austria and Poland, and neighboring Prussia itself) on August 29, 1756, beginning the Seven Years’ War. Friedrich II faced a lot of criticism for his preemptive attack on Saxony.