Watercolour. Sheet size: 22.2 x 30.7 cm.

Provenienz: unidentifiable chain of inventory.

This representation of Queen Luise's bedchamber belongs to a series of watercolours made around 1830 and depicting interiors of the Palais Royal in Berlin.

There are several versions of some of Klose's works, including one of the present view in the collection of the former Hohenzollernmuseum, and two versions of the Yellow Drawing-Room in the Palais Royal. One of the latter is part of the collection in Schloss Charlottenburg, and another was on the London art market in 1987.

The present work is of interest not only for its historical and art-historical importance, but it is also evidence of an important period in interior design and furniture, both in Berlin, and more widely, in Europe. Extant invoices allow the attribution of most of the items represented in our drawing to ébénistes, sculptors and bronziers active in Berlin at the time.

The early date of this interior, 1803, testifies to the progressive nature of cultural life in Berlin at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Empire decoration of Queen Luise's bedchamber follows closely the designs of the Parisian architects and interior design team, Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine. The furniture, articulation of the walls and the various decorative objects - incense burners, guéridons and vases - can be traced back directly to the leading design ideas of Napoleon's favourite architects.