In 1734, Frederick having been reinstated as crown prince in 1731 by his father, Frederick William I, took up residence in Rheinsberg. Frederick William himself had little use for painting and art for its own sake; he was far more interested in soldiers, soldiering, and building the army. He did, however, appoint Pesne as director of the Berlin Academy of the Arts in 1722. At that point, Pesne became famous for his portraits of the Prussian royal family and their households. Among his most famous is his portrait of Frederick William, "The Soldier King," (1733). Many of his portraits hang in Berlin museums and in Charlottenburg Palace. These include (among others) his portraits of the first two kings of Prussia, Frederich I and Frederick William I, members of the royal family, and of lady-in-waiting Eleonore von Schlieben.