Art Institute of Chicago

Wilhelm I, King of Prussia, from Les Génies de la Mort

Edmond Guilliaume

Date

1870

Medium

Color lithograph on ivory wove paper

Culture

France

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

After the creation of the German Empire, Wilhelm I was named kaiser (emperor) of the unified German state. He is thus depicted as the aristocratic twin to his prime minister, Otto von Bismarck. Edmond Guilliaume ironically gave Wilhelm a crown of leaves like an ancient hero, but that association is superseded by the rest of his face and body. Underneath his confident eyes lies a decaying skull, and his body is replaced by the rapacious, blood-sucking form of a bat. Combined with the nighttime destruction of the church in the distance, Wilhelm represents the very essence of the coldhearted, cold-blooded enemy.

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