Prussia Meets Gay Love - The Forbidden Kiss

The Moment Before the Kiss – When the World Stands Still

Two officers face each other, their lips only a breath apart. One in a red uniform with a black cap, the other in a green uniform adorned with colorful medals. Soon they will kiss – right in the middle of the salon, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

But it was not. In Prussia, the epitome of German militarism, gay love was unthinkable, forbidden, impossible. Uniforms stood for obedience, discipline, power. Not for tenderness.

This mural turns history around: It shows what could have been if Prussia had chosen love instead of war. If two officers had been allowed to kiss, without fear, without shame. Make Love Not War – in the style of the great masters.

Artistic Classification

The painting technique recalls Adolph Menzel, the most important painter of the Prussian court. His portraits of officers and aristocrats are technically brilliant – yet they glorify a culture of power and violence. This mural takes Menzel’s style and gives it a new meaning: love instead of saber-rattling. Two men looking at each other as if there were nothing else.

About Adolph Menzel (1815-1905) and Our New Interpretation

Adolph Menzel was one of the most important German painters of the 19th century. His depictions of the Prussian military and court life are technically masterful – yet they glorify a culture of power, obedience, and violence, which we reject. This mural takes Menzel’s brilliant painting technique and gives it a new, better meaning: love instead of war. Two officers kissing – the image Prussia never painted but should have. The power of gay love is stronger than saber-rattling.

Technical Details

• Canvas stretched on a stretcher frame (2 cm deep)
• Available sizes: 30x20 cm, 60x40 cm, 90x60 cm
• Ready to hang immediately
• Print on Demand – freshly made for you

Exclusive at KUNSTWERK BILDER – nowhere else available.