Erik Nitsche (Swiss, 1908 - 1998) "Charlottenburg Gate" Signed lower right. Original Mixed Media painting on Illustration Board. Provenance: Collection of James A. Helzer (1946-2008), Founder of Unicover Corporation. This painting is the original painting which was published on the Fleetwood First Day Cover for the Germany 50pf Charlottenburg Gate stamp issued June 20, 1986. This gate used to be part of the former elaborate bridge which spanned across the Landwehrcanal between Berlin and Charlottenburg. Today the Gate spans only the Strasse de 17 Juni. The Gate was constructed between 1907 and 1908 after plans by Professor Bernhard Schaede. Its pillars once formed a barrier between the Charlottenburg University Center and the parks of the neighboring Zoological Gardens. Following a suggestion by Kaiser Wilhelm II, sculptor Heinrich Baucke created the larger-than-life bronze statues of the first Prussian King, Frederic I and his wife, Sophie Charlotte in 1909. Baucke's bronze of Sophie Charlotte points with her right hand in the direction of Charlottenburg Castle. Before the bridge's destruction in World War II, the two inner bridge piers had been decorated by two bronze relief groups by Georg Wroba. "Stormy Waters" stood on the north and "Quiet Waters" stood on the south. But because of the enormous costs involved in recreating the originals, they were not reconstructed after the war. The bridge structure is over sixty feet high and was designed in the Renaissance style; it used to be part of the border between the city of Berlin and the city of Charlottenburg and was meant to be the counterpart of the Brandenburg Gate. Image Size: 12 x 14 in. Overall Size: 15 x 20 in. Unframed. (B10459)