Kaiserproklamation Friedrichsruher Fassung

Otto von Bismarck is shown in his white Cuirassier uniform (which he did not actually wear on January 18, 1871). Bismarck was the Prime Minister of Prussia and responsible for the unification of Germany in the Wars of Unification.

This version of the painting was commissioned by the Prussian royal family for chancellor Bismarck's 70th birthday. All the people are portrayed as the age they were when the work was painted in 1885, not the age they were when the event occurred in 1871.

Albrecht von Roon, the Prussian War Minister, was not actually at the proclamation because he was ill. He was included in the painting because he was a close friend of Bismarck's.

Helmuth von Moltke, Chief of the Prussian General Staff (commander of the Prussian army)

Frederick I, Grand Duke of Baden, son-in-law of the Prussian King Wilhelm I

King Wilhelm I of Prussia was proclaimed Emperor of the German Empire on 18 January 1871. He commissioned this painting for Bismarck's 70th birthday in 1885.

Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia; He became Emperor of the German Empire after his father's death in 1888.

Duke Ernest II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

The proclamation took place in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles (France). This was a humiliation for the French.

The Proclamation of the German Empire (Friedrichsruh version), Anton von Werner, 1885

This is the moment in which the battle flags and standards of the regiments are lifted. The officers and princes raise their helmets and sabers as they answer the call of the Grand Duke of Baden for three cheers for the new German Emperor.

„Vor meinem Bilde hielt sich der Kaiser lange auf und fragte zunächst: ‚Sie haben Bismarck ja hier im weißen Koller gemalt, er hatte doch aber, wie auf ihrem ersten Bilde, den blauen Waffenrock an?‘ Ich mochte dem Kaiser nicht sagen, dass ich an dieser Stelle des Bildes unter all den dunkelblauen Uniformen den weißen Fleck nötig hatte, um Bismarck sichtbar zu machen und wies deshalb darauf hin, dass alle anderen bei der Proklamation anwesenden Kürassiere den weißen Koller getragen hätten und konsequenter weise ihn Bismarck auch hätte anlegen müssen, wenn er ihn mit in den Feldzug genommen hätte, was eben nicht der Fall war. Der Kaiser erwiderte: ‚Sie haben recht, er war falsch angezogen und es ist ganz richtig, dass Sie das korrigiert haben.‘“ Anton von Werner, zit. Nach: Bickel.