Editing Frederick the Great (section)

==== Architecture and the fine arts ====
[[File:Potsdam - Schloss Sanssouci.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35 |alt=Photograph of the rear of a palace|South, or garden façade and ''[[corps de logis]]'' of [[Sanssouci]]]]
Frederick had many famous buildings constructed in his capital, Berlin, most of which still stand today, such as the Berlin State Opera, the Royal Library (today the [[Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin|State Library Berlin]]), St. Hedwig's Cathedral, and Prince Henry's Palace (now the site of [[Humboldt University of Berlin|Humboldt University]]).{{sfn|Ladd|2018|p=[{{Google book|id=WZVQDwAAQBAJ|pg=53|plainurl=yes}} 53]}} A number of the buildings, including the Berlin State Opera House, a wing of [[Schloss Charlottenburg]],{{sfn|Hamilton|1880|pp=[https://archive.org/details/rheinsbergmemor06hamigoog/page/n148 129–134]}} and the renovation of Rheinsburg during Frederick's residence were built in a unique [[Rococo]] style that Frederick developed in collaboration with [[Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff]].{{sfn|Schieder|1983|p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat0000schi/page/6 6]}} This style became known as [[Frederician Rococo]] and is epitomised by Frederick's summer palace, Sanssouci (French for "carefree" or "without worry"),{{sfn|Kaufmann|1995|p=[{{Google book|id=zzcDERro12gC|pg=400|plainurl=yes}} 400]}} his primary residence and private refuge.{{sfnm|Asprey|1986|1p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatma00aspr/page/n417 388]|Gooch|1947|2p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreatru0000gooc_n4j0/page/127 127]|Mitford|1970|3p=[https://archive.org/details/frederickgreat00mitf_0/page/159 159]}}

As a great patron of the arts, Frederick was a collector of paintings and ancient sculptures; his favourite artist was [[Jean-Antoine Watteau]]. His sense of aesthetics can be seen in the picture gallery at Sanssouci, which presents architecture, painting, sculpture and the decorative arts as a unified whole. The gilded stucco decorations of the ceilings were created by Johann Michael Merck and Carl Joseph Sartori. 17th-century Flemish and Dutch paintings filled the western wing and the gallery's central building, while Italian paintings from the High Renaissance and Baroque were exhibited in the eastern wing. Sculptures were arranged symmetrically or in rows in relation to the architecture.{{sfn|ArtDaily|2013}}