12 – 13 Equestrian Statue of Elector Frederick William The monument, commissioned by Frederick III (later King Frederick I) shows Elector Frederick William riding a horse, looking into the distance. At his feet are four people in chains that probably symbolise his enemies Sweden, Poland, France, and the Ottoman Empire.1 The equestrian statue was completed in 1703 and placed on the Lange Brücke in front of Berlin Palace. The four figures around the plinth were added in 1708–1709. The political meaning of these figures is still subject to discussion today.2 Prior French examples of such statues of enslaved or captive men are clearer in terms of their iconography. The plinth of the monument of King Henry IV on the Pont Neuf in Paris, destroyed during the French Revolution, was framed by four figures who portray enslaved men. One of them is depicted as an African.3 The sculptures of slaves at the base of the monument to Louis XIV, destroyed in 1792, which stood on the Place de la Victoire in Paris, are similar in their design to the more generic figures around the equestrian statue of the elector.4 In both Paris and Berlin, the installation of the statues and the accompanying ceremonial programme was criticised and met with polemical responses. Critics focused on the veneration of monarchs, resembling idolatry, and the presumed subjugation of enemies, symbolised by the enslaved people.5 In France, the monuments of monarchs were toppled during the French Revolution and the figures of the enslaved were kept separately, because the claim to power thus expressed was rejected during the revolution. Colonial aspirations were definitely a part of the elector’s and his successor’s pretensions to power. On the Latin inscription on the plinth of the monument, written by the scholar Johann Georg Wachter, who was responsible for the iconography, the monarch is described as a ‘hero’ who stood for the ‘love of the world’ and was considered the ‘terror of his enemies’.6 By 1700, the monarch’s imperial ambitions extended to the west coast of Africa and beyond. At the end of the 19th century, the importance of these aspirations was championed. After acquiring colonies, Emperor William I is purported to have proudly stated that he could now step before the equestrian statue with a clear conscience, since he had ‘taken up and expanded’ the elector’s colonial project.7 | CAROL IN ALF F Claims to power in bronze
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