mildred_of_midgard: (Default)
mildred_of_midgard ([personal profile] mildred_of_midgard) wrote in [personal profile] cahn 2020-10-21 11:10 pm (UTC)

Tobacco Parliament

I'm not doing Krockow commentary (no time!), just reading for German practice, but I had to raise my hand and call on the teacher, as it were, for this one:

In Preußen, im Tabakskollegium Friedrich Wilhelms I. erkennt man rechts vom König den Kronprinzen Friedrich. Zwischen all den schwergewichtigen Männern wirkt er wie eine blasse Zierpuppe, und ängstlich klammert der kleine Zappelphilipp sich am Tisch fest. Seine jüngeren Brüder August Wilhelm und Heinrich aber, die dem gestrengen Herrn Vater vor dem Zubettgehen ihre Aufwartung machen, geben sich wirklich nicht als Kinder, sondern als winzige Erwachsene zu erkennen.

In short, in this picture, he claims it's Fritz sitting at the table, dressed in white, and clings to the table, and AW and Heinrich walking in to pay their respects.

Not that I trust Wikipedia, but if this is circa 1737, as we've discussed, 25-yo Fritz was happy to be far away in Rheinsberg! That should be AW at the table, and Heinrich and Ferdinand walking in.

So who's wrong: Krockow or Wikipedia?

In Wikipedia's favor: pace artistic conventions, by the time Heinrich was old enough to walk, Fritz had surely reached adult height, or close enough.

The [community profile] rheinsberg image that [personal profile] selenak shared with us doesn't tell me whether her That's tiny AW sitting on the table, and Ferdinand and Heinrich coming to wish their father good night. Since it's painted in 1737, Fritz thanks his lucky stars he's not there but in Rheinsberg. description is based on memory or on the claims of the Wusterhausen curators.

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