Wojciech Kossak: The Battle of Zorndorf (1758), 1899

In his painting Kossak portrayed the events from the perspective of the rank-and-file soldiers, as was usual in battle scenes since the Napoleonic age. By doing so he shifts the attention of the observer to the centre of the drama. In the middle of the picture is a row of Russian Grenadiers with their backs to us (recognisable by their tall red caps with a white edging and bobble) towards whom the Prussian cavalry (in black three cornered hats and raised sabres) from the Gardes-du-Corps is riding. To the left can be seen a Russian banner. In the background on the left edge of the picture Zorndorf can be seen in flames. Now known under the name of Sarbinowo it is located a few kilometres north-east of Küstrin/Kostrzyn nad Odrą. In the foreground the drama is emphasised by a dying horse and a dead soldier next to a munitions cart that has smashed into a birch tree. A further scene is grouped around the tall trunk of the leafy tree. This shows a Kalmyk on horseback aiming a bow and arrow at an oncoming Prussian officer in pursuit of a wagon drawn by three horses on the right edge of the painting. Frederick the Great is approaching with his troops from the distance.

Kossak did a lot of careful research before starting on the picture. In his letters to his wife he wrote that he had not only studied historical documents in the secret archive of the Ministry of War but had also travelled with officers of the regiment to the former battlefield. “We walked up and down the field for the whole day in terrible heat to consider the composition down to the last detail.” He also had some authentic uniforms and weapons delivered to his workshop from the Military Museum in the Berlin Armoury; and these he used as models. Smaller oil paintings in which he describes this procedure, show him with Wilhelm II and Menzel studying the uniformed soldiers and parts of their uniforms in front of preliminary sketches of the battle on a white canvas. These are probably imaginary scenes for they resemble the photographs of the Kaiser’s visit that were only taken after the completion of the picture. The composition and perspective is astounding.

The artist was more than satisfied with the success of his picture. Whilst he was working on “The Battle of Zorndorf” the Kaiser commissioned him to paint a picture of himself on horseback. Kossak worked on this simultaneously in the Monbijou Worksop during which the Kaiser indicated that he would be commissioning more works from him. It was not only the historical details but also the dramatic rendering of the events with their inherent glorification of the Gardes-du-Corps, that gave Kossak the impression that his intentions for the picture had resulted in “something tremendously original”.