The Clausewitz Homepage frequently receives requests for graphics. This page describes our very liberal policies for use of our own graphics and provides information and links to sources for graphics copyrighted by other organizations. Please let us know if you are using our graphics—we may want to link to your site or list your publication. This page contains a lot of graphic files and may take quite a while to download.

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Images visible on The Clausewitz Homepage™ are all optimized for display on the web. Therefore, they are relatively low-resolution and generally not suitable for printing. If you are looking for print-quality graphics, click HERE.

Clausewitz.com™ freely permits use of any graphic on the Clausewitz website not specifically identified as belonging to someone else, with the following exception and proviso: The image to the left (in all variations) is the Clausewitz.com corporate logo, which can be displayed only if the display includes a clear indication of its corporate identity, i.e., an embedded link to http//www.clausewitz.com and/or the clear label "Clausewitz.com." This logo is based on a photo of the bronze bust of Clausewitz owned by the National War College, in Washington, DC.

Most of the images of books appearing on Clausewitz.com webpages, especially those appearing in the Clausewitz Bookstore, are from Amazon.com and Amazon holds copyright.

CLAUSEWITZ PORTRAITS

There are now three known portraits of Clausewitz, possibly only two from life, with a large number of variations. The first is a new discovery, supplied in 2015 to Bernd Domsgen and Olaf Thiel of the Clausewitz Society (Freundeskreis Clausewitz) in Burg by descendants of Clausewitz's siblings. The drawing below—possibly by Marie v. Clausewitz—is of a rather young Carl. Vanya Bellinger suggests it dates from c.1808-1810. Below that drawing is the 1815/16 portrait of General Graf August von Gneisenau (Clausewitz's mentor and friend) executed by Marie. As you can see, it is quite well done (though it is perhaps a bit too true-to-life). [DHM data]

Gneisenau
by Marie von Clausewitz
[Click for larger image.]

The second (below) is a portrait of Clausewitz in a Russian lieutenant-colonel's uniform, made c.1813 or 1814. This painting has long been lost, though old photos of the original and a couple of rather poor, primitive-looking copies exist. Both the drawing of Clausewitz shown two pictures above and the original painting may have been done by Marie von Clausewitz—the opinion of Vanya Bellinger, based on the timing and on Marie's demonstrated competence as a painter. Immediately above is the 1815/16 portrait of General Graf August von Gneisenau (Clausewitz's mentor and friend) executed by Marie. As you can see, it is quite well done. [DHM data]

This image of the second portrait, below, is a composite based on the best images we can find. It originated as a b&w photo of the original portrait from ASMZ [Allgemeine Schweizerische Militärzeitschrift], a Swiss military publication. ASMZ indicates that that image came from a photo in Werner Hahlweg, Klassiker der Kriegskunst (Darmstadt 1960), p.256. The location of the original portrait, originally in the possession of the Clausewitz family, is unknown to us, though there is a poor copy at the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr. The face and uniform are from the ASMZ photo, which is very dark. The hair is taken from the (also poor) copy in the Clausewitz Museum in Burg. This composite is ©Clausewitz.com.

LTC Clausewitz in Russian uniform c.1813
[another image]

The painting on the wall below is a copy of the lost portrait showing Clausewitz in a Russian lieutenant-colonel's uniform. This copy was given to GeneralMajor Beck, commandant of the Führungsakademie of the German Bundeswehr, when he visited the Russian Military Academy in 2005. The photo below that, taken by Vanya Eftimova Bellinger but heavily processed to bring out detail, minimize glare, and correct for perspective distortion, is of the copy that hangs in the Clausewitz Museum in Burg.

The third portrait of Clausewitz (several versions are shown below) is the original full-color portrait by Wilhelm Wach, supposedly painted from life in 1830, but it may in fact be a posthumous portrait based on earlier drawings. This is the most frequently-encountered image of Clausewitz, appearing in many forms and derivatives. The picture immediately below is a composite, created by cloning together an image of the rather pastel painting itself with the strong contrasts of a B&W image of the color lithograph made from the painting by Franz Michaelis. This composite is also ©Clausewitz.com..

If you wish to use the image above, on the web or in print (we have a higher-resolution version), you must request permission through The Clausewitz Homepage.

The original painting, long thought lost or destroyed during World War II, is now back in the hands of the Clausewitz family's relatives. The painting itself is very small, 26x21 cm. Black and white images are often either from photos of the original painting or from various copies of the b&w and color lithographs (shown below), prints of which vary widely in quality. Numerous additional drawings and posterizations have been made based on these basic images

Above Left: The original Wach painting (from a 2015 photo). Right: Color lithograph by Franz Michelis the younger.

This black & white detail immediately above, apparently from the lithograph done after Wach's painting by Michelis, is quite different from prints we have seen of the color litho and may be yet another distinct work based on the Wach painting. Each print of the litho is unique, and there appears to be a great deal of variation among them.

Above is a very slick new version, though the face is considerably altered. This painting is a copy based on photos of the Wach portrait, which had been lost since World War II. It was commissioned by the Clausewitz Gesellschaft in 1999 and presented to the Führungsakademie of the German Bundeswehr in Hamburg in that year. We took this file from http://www.cominganarchy.com/archives/2005/11/16/god-of-war/.

Immediately above, the Clausewitz on the right is the original from the portrait commissioned by the Clausewitz Gesellschaft in 1999. But John Amble, the editor for USMA's Modern War Institute, has gone to a lot of trouble to alter the eyes and mouth to make the Clausewitz on the right look much sterner and tougher. This appeared as an illustration to Steve Leonard's "'You Really Think I'm Irrelevant? LOL.' A Letter to Clausewitz Haters from Beyond The Grave," West Point: Modern War Institute, USMA, 6 May 6 2020. While Leonard's article is obviously pro-Clausewitz, the distortion of a specific individual's portrait to reflect a stereotypical view of Prussian generals (which is particularly misleading in this case) is a dubious practice.

The portrait seen below is a detail from the painting "Die Tafelrunde" by Josef Schneider (1966), which shows Clausewitz drinking with some prominent comrades in Mainz in 1815. It is displayed on the Clausewitz Homepage by courtesy of the Headquarters of the German Army Forces Command, Koblenz (HQ GARFCOM). They hold the copyright and have been known to supply high-quality photographs of it to facilitate high-quality print reproduction. It is based on a mirror-image of the Wach portrait.

A fellow named Oliver Schmidt tells us that the painting was made in 1966, a gift from the municipality to the Bundeswehr corps command in Koblenz, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the existence of an army corps headquarters in the town. The painter, Josef Schneider, was living in the village Emmelshausen (25 km south of Koblenz) and got 3500 DM for his work. Schmidt cites Rüdiger Wischemann, "Die 'Tafelrunde im von-der-Leyenschen Hof': ein Koblenzer Tafelbild von Josef Schneider, Emmelshausen." Berlin: dissertation.de, 2003, ISBN: 3898257576.

Here's a thumbnail of the whole painting.

For a list of who's who in this painting, click this image.

Here's a detail of the main group.

The Schneider portrait of Clausewitz is a mirror image of the Wach/Michelis image.

Jomini and Clausewitz
(©Clausewitz.com 2018)

(Click here for image info and more images of Jomini.)

To see a discussion and images of Clausewitz's military decorations, click on the image below.

MARIE VON CLAUSEWITZ

Clausewitz's wife and editor Marie von Clausewitz, born Marie Sophie Gräfin von Brühl [Countess Marie Sophie von Brühl] (1779-1836). Any serious understanding of the personality and thinking of Carl von Clausewitz must include his deep relationship with his high-born, well educated, well connected, and politically sophisticated wife. This is a lithograph based on a lost painting done c.1800. Clausewitz thought this was a good likeness but that the eyes were not quite correct.

Illustration from Karl Schwartz, Leben des Generals Carl von Clausewitz und der Frau Marie von Clausewitz, geb. Gräfin von Brühl: Mit Briefen, Aufsätzen, Tagebüchern und anderen Schriftstücken (Berlin: Ferd. Dümmlers Verlags-Buchhandlung, 1878). The rather frumpy-looking bonnet she is wearing is actually a political statement—it is a "bonnet a la Nelson,” i.e., a fashionable celebration of Lord Nelson’s 1798 victory in the Battle of the Nile. Given Prussia's nervous neutrality at the time, this would have been a strong statement at court. (Click for a larger image.)

The image below, recently unearthed by Vanya Bellinger, is a detail of an 1815 portrait of Countess Marie von Clausewitz by artist François-Joseph Kinson, late court painter to Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia, and then in need of a new job. Marie was uncharacteristically overweight at the time, evidently a nervous reaction to that year's excitements, but couldn't resist the opportunity.

Clausewitzian "Trinity" demonstration device

CLAUSEWITZ CARICATURES

A friendly caricature by David Levine in the
New York Review of Books, 14 OCT 1976.
(Prints available from NYRB. Click image for link.)

From artist John Cox, 4 MAR 2011.

ABOVE: ©Artist Rainer Ehrt, "Prussian Roulette" ("Preußisches Roulette") Karikatur, Am Spieltisch mit der Landkarte Europas mit Wilhelm I, Bismarck, Friedrich II (der Grosse), Leopold von Anhalt-Dessau, Schlieffen, Clausewitz, Wilhelm II, und Hindenburg, 1999. Posted to The Clausewitz Homepage by permission of the artist. More artwork by Julia and Rainer Ehrt can be found at http://www.edition-ehrt.de/. All images in the section below are © Rainer Ehrt.

Detail from Rainer Ehrt, "Little Prussian Court Theater." A thumbnail of the full cartoon is shown below.

Click image to see larger version.

Click image to see larger version.

From Rainer Ehrt, Preußischer Bilderbogen
(Parthas Verlag Berlin 2011), ISBN 3869640499

Above: Caricature of Clausewitz by Edward Sorel, Horizons, Summer 1971. Retrieved from https://horizonhardcover.wordpress.com/tag/roy-mcmullen/. The implied rankings of audience members naturally reflects someone else's view (Sorel's?), not those of Clausewitz.

"Clausewitz is cool."

Danish portrait of Clausewitz, from Høiback, Harald. En kort introduksjon til Carl von Clausewitz—Krigens filosof. Cappelen Damm Akademisk, 2021. ISBN: 9788202712266. See review by Jens Ringsmose.

From a book "To Understand Clausewitz's 'On War' with Cartoons" mentioned by Takeshi Oki without a citation, presumably 漫画クラウゼヴィッツと戦争論 (日本語) 単行本（ソフトカバー）.

--------------------------------

Below: From Zenpundit and The ChicagoBoyz
Click images below to visit original URL.

Clausewitz as fractal

"Hare von Clausewitz"
Caitlin Fitz Gerald, The Children's Illustrated Clausewitz, Volume I
(London/Perth/Nairobi/Oaxaca: Helios House Press, 2021). ISBN: 978-1-911683-00-1
See also Spencer Ackerman, "The Bible of Western War,
Now Featuring Cartoon Animals." Wired, 18 July 2011.
Military History Quarterly review.

PRINT-QUALITY GRAPHICS

AKG-IMAGES

AKG (see contact info below) can provide either transparency, print or high-res scans (356 DPI, opens as 25 megabites, .jpg not .tiff format) of the color lithograph portrait in either color or black & white. Charges will depend on your intended use, number of copies to be reproduced, etc. These images are thumbnails. They have other relevant images as well.

AKG London Ltd
http://www.akg-images.co.uk
5 Melbray Mews
158 Hurlingham Road
London
SW6 3NS
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7610 6103
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7610 6125
email: [email protected]

If you are outside the UK, Ireland, the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand or Hong Kong, please contact the Berlin office:
Archiv fur Kunst und Geschichte
Teutonenstrasse 22
14129 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49 (0) 30 80485200  Fax: +49 (0) 30 80485500

If you are in France, please contact the Paris office:
AKG Phototheque
67 Rue Notre-Dame des Champs
75006 Paris
France

SCULPTURE

There are original bronze busts of Clausewitz (some quite different from one another) at the German Army's War College; the U.S. National War College in Washington, DC (which is the one shown above, done c.2000 in Hamburg by an artist named Büsching, based on the Bundeswehr's version); and the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA.

The original bust in the Führungsakademie der Bundeswehr in Hamburg, Germany.
(Click for larger image.)

Here's a bust shown on the Clausewitz Gessellschaft's website. In 1989, at what is now the Carl von Clausewitz Kaserne in Burg, the East German Volksarmee unveiled this bronze bust. There is a very similar bust—possibly the same one—in the Clausewitz Museum in Burg.

A smaller, U.S.-made bust (URL is no longer available).

From Historia-Souvenir, Leipsic, Germany
This one is advertised as "New!" - Accessed 23 FEB 2016.

Here's an older one (c.60mm high) from the same source as above, apparently no longer available.

Buste des Generals Clausewitz im Zeughaus zu Berlin. Deutsches Historisches Museum, InventarNr: Kg 62/45. Sculpture by Theodor Litke, c.1890. DHM inventory data. It would be nice to know more about the history of this bust. Photo from the Burg Zeitung, "Die Jahre des Carl von Clausewitz in seiner Geburtsstadt: Mit zwolf Lebensjahren aus Burg Entsshwunden?," evidently published in 2000.
See http://www.michael-koch.de/burg/zeitung/V-111200.jpg and here.

Also from the Clausewitz Gessellschaft, the "Ehrenmedaille General Carl von Clausewitz" for outstanding achievement at the German war college.

Burg, Denkmal für Carl von Clausewitz.
(Click for larger image.)

From Doctrine Man: MEMORABILIA $9.99 http://doctrine-man-memorabilia.tumblr.com/post/80281220697/dead-carl-lives

ADDITIONAL IMAGES

The Clausewitz family house in Burg (restored)

Clausewitz house before restoration.

Watercolor.

Three images (above) of Clausewitz's house in Burg

Nazi Propaganda Poster: The Nazi Party's Central Propaganda Office (the Reichspropagandaleitung ) produced a weekly poster with a quotation that could be displayed in party offices, public buildings, etc."The time is yours. What happens with it depends on you. Clausewitz." (#37 for 8-14 September 1940). SOURCE

Clausewitz and Sun Tzu

Image used by The Economist's "Clausewitz" blog.

The Clausewitz family coat of arms.
Photo by Vanya Eftimova Bellinger
at the Clausewitz Museum in Burg.
See smaller version.

The Clausewitz Family Tree. Click image for a 1300x900-pixel version.
This is a contribution from Olaf Thiel und Bernd Domsgen of The Clausewitz Society
in Clausewitz's hometown of Burg, Germany.
E-Mail Adressen für Fragen, Hinweise und Anregungen.

[This address is provided as an un-linked image, for security.]

Special stamp issued by "Biberpost" on the occasion of the 240th birthday of Carl von Clausewitz in 2020. The stamp can now be purchased at the Tourist Information desk in Burg (in the train station).

 

A child's drawing.

By Anselm Kiefer, c.1982/87. Woodcuts and acrylic on cut and pasted papers
125 3/8 x 151 3/4 in. (317.8 x 385.4 cm)

This painting shows Clausewitz
in a Russian general's uniform
(though Clausewitz was never a
Russian general). It appears to be
rather poorly) based on the
Wach portrait. We do not know the location
or source of this painting.

Above: 3 French versions.

A Spanish version, drawn by Edgar Lugos' father in 1982.

An Italian version (from the cover of the 1970 Italian translation.)

From Vom Kriege

A Chinese version.

A Russian version.

An East German soldier guarding Clausewitz's tomb.

Clausewitz's tomb. Note the correct spelling of the name: Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz.

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