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Two sovereigns shaking hands, demonstrating their personal friendship -- an image one might see daily in the media even now. In this case, the two men sealing their political association are King August the Strong of Poland, on the left of the painting, and the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm the First.

During the years after 1719, the traditionally fairly close relations between Saxony and Prussia were marked by tension and conflicts. In the spring of 1728, the Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm the First visited Dresden with a view to changing that state of affairs. For a month, all and sundry literally paid court to him there. The atmosphere between the two rulers grew more relaxed. In the summer of that same year, August the Strong visited Berlin and Potsdam in his turn. That was the occasion on which this picture was painted.

We see the two kings as generals in military dress worn over a cuirass. August the Strong’s red velvet coat is richly decorated with gold embroidery on the lapels and the pocket flaps. Much more restrained is Friedrich Wilhelm the First in his blue cloth coat. The wigs are different, too. August the Strong wears a large, full-bottomed wig, while Friedrich Wilhelm the First is shown with his usual, much smaller military wig with a tightly bound pigtail.

Following the rapprochement between the two sovereigns, there ensued a lively exchange about military issues and the need to upgrade the Saxon army’s weaponry and equipment. Two years later, in 1730, August the Strong showed off the military strength and capabilities of his army at a grand military review near Zeithain – in the presence of the Prussian king.