Theodor Ziegler (1830 Berlin - 1914 Berlin-Friedenau) Portrait of Wilhelm I, King of Prussia and first German Emperor Representative, life-size, expressively characterising hip portrait of Wilhelm I (1797 - 1888) in a dark blue uniform with an orange-red sash of the Order of the Black Eagle, decorated with numerous high orders and a medal clasp. Ziegler was one of the best portraitists of the Berlin school of painting. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts from 1845 and exhibited at the Academy's exhibitions from 1856, as well as at the Great Berlin Art Exhibitions from 1893 to 1910. As a sought-after portrait painter, he created portraits of Wilhelm I, among others, including a commissioned state portrait of the Prussian king and German emperor in a coronation robe and with coronation insignia. A portrait of Frederick III, which Ziegler had painted for the Königsberg Higher Regional Court, was acquired by Wilhelm II in 1890 to decorate the Berlin City Palace. Oil on canvas, coloured; signed and dated; 116.5 cm x 89 cm. Frame. Wilhelm I reigned in the Kingdom of Prussia from 1858 (from 1861 as King), and in 1871 he was proclaimed the first German Emperor by the German princes in Versailles after the Franco-Prussian War. Provenance: Interior from the Kluvensiek manor house. Oil on canvas, relined. Signed.