II. - Schloss Schwetzingen

in the pattern of the portico fl oor and ceiling.
Inside, benches line the walls on both sides,
and there are two cylindrical sacrifi cal altars
decorated with bulls’ skulls. A statue of Minerva
graces the back wall. The frieze of sacrifi cial
knives, axes and bowls to receive the blood is
continued on the interior walls. The coffered
ceiling is refl ected by the marble fl oor.
The back of the temple gives access to its basement.
This is a rectangular room with two
niches at the sides that receive light through
circular openings. Benches on all the walls
offer seating. The room has a groin vault. A
shaft leads under the stairs; there is another in
the fl oor in the middle of the room.
The temple’s central sculpture is Minerva, depicted
as a so-called Masonic triad – that of
Wisdom, Beauty and Strength. The owl at her
feet represents wisdom. The goddess demonstrates
strength by her armour and the allusion
to Hercules, whose lion skin is just visible on
her right shoulder. Beauty is represented by the
goddess herself; she also carries a branch, identifying
her as Athena Nikephorus. The order is
Corinthian, the Masonic symbol of wisdom.
In the gable relief, the goddess is sitting on a
craggy rock, characterized by her helmet and
the Gorgon’s head on her shield and accompanied
by the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope
and Love. Faith is recognizable by her scroll,
Love by the fl ames and shattered idols, Hope
by her spade and gaze directed heavenward.
On the left, in a posture similar to that of Minerva,
sits Discretion looking at the assembly
and pointing to a chiselling cherub with
her right hand; her left forefi nger is raised in
front of her closed mouth. She is the guardian
of the Masonic secret, one of the Masonic core
values. Minerva inspecting the scroll is reminiscent
of a 1731 book illustration of some
signifi cance for Masons, that was repeatedly
paraphrased in the course of the 18th century:
that of King Solomon inspecting the plans for
the Temple.
According to ancient mythology, Minerva
gave mankind the science of numbers; it is
II. Schwetzingen – A Prince Elector’s Eighteenth-Century Summer Residence
thus hardly surprising that symbolic numbers
abound in the layout of the temple. The
pleasantly harmonious appearance is due not
least to the fact that most of its proportions
adhere to the golden section recommended
by Vitruvius. Familiarity with proper propor-
tions is part of the basic knowledge of a master
builder. The cosmic principle of duality is
expressed both by the two-colour fl oor and by
the fl oor’s refl ecting the ceiling (the Hermetic
“as above, so below”).
II.
Fig. 14: Statue of “Rhetorica”,
southern shore of the great
pond, ascribed to Peter van den
Branden, court sculptor from
1714, d. 1719/20 (photo: Scholl).
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