In the matter of sculpture, the achievement in which the Emperor takes most pride is undoubtedly the famous Siegesallee in Berlin. It consists of a number of monumental, heroic figures taken from the history of his house. The avenue, the general scheme, and the arrangement of many of the figures were planned by him, and the figures were chosen in consultation with his historiographer. The style is supposedly classic; there are many incidental animal figures, and a sphinx and the sibyl help to represent Bismarck. The attempt to make heroic and classic certain of the fairly mediocre representatives of his line, like Albrecht, Otto and John, Joachim, Frederick, and George William, seems to have been too difficult a task even for that Berlin school of sculpture, which the Emperor feels would bear comparison with that of the Renaissance. Notwithstanding his own efforts to awaken art "from the cold sleep of unculture," it is perhaps significant that powerful, independent personalities, Michelangelos in sculpture and Bismarcks in politics, do not seem to thrive under the Emperor's protection. This eighteenth day of December has a certain significance in the history of our art here in Berlin, from the fact that that revered protector of the Muses, my late father, and my mother, who was so gifted in the arts, dedicated on that day, fifteen years ago, the Anthropological Museum. This was in a way the last great closing act which my father accomplished in this direction, and I look upon it as a special piece of good fortune that it is on precisely this day of the year that the works for the Siegesallee could be completed. I seize with joy the opportunity to express to you all, first, my congratulations and, secondly, my thanks for the way and manner in which you have helped me to carry out my original plan. The accomplishment of the programme for the Siegesallee has required a number of years, and it was the able historiographer of my house, Professor Doctor Koser, who put me in a position to assign to the gentlemen the tasks which it was possible for them to carry out. Once we had found the historical basis, it was possible to go ahead; and after the choice of the princes was decided upon, then the most competent men in the way of historical research were found to help the gentlemen in their work. In this way the groups were conceived, and, conditioned to a certain degree by history, they gradually took form. After this part of the work was done, then, naturally, came the hardest question of all: Would it be possible, as I hoped, to find enough artists in Berlin who would be in a position to give themselves entirely to the execution of this programme?