Ceiling painting (detail). At 240 square meters (= 2,583 square feet), this is the largest canvas ceiling painting north of the alps. The chief changes between van loo's preliminary oil sketch (shown below) and the final execution are the addition of hebe and hephaestus as well as the covering of the cartouche with a green cloth. The cartouche in the oil sketch features a crown and the initials fr (fridericus rex). These changes were surely made at friedrich's direction. The addition of hebe has been interpreted as a nod to friedrich's beloved sister, wilhelmine. The covering of his initials was seen by contemporaries as indicative of friedrich's modesty. In greek mythology, zeus made ganymede cupbearer to the gods at olympus, supplanting hebe. Object Type: painting. Date: 1768. Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Neues Palais in Potsdam. Die Einführung des Ganymed in den Olymp (van Loo)
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