Andreas Schlüter
From Freepedia
Andreas Schlüter (May 20 1660 in Danzig – May 1714 in St. Petersburg) was a baroque sculptor and architect.
Schlüter was probably born in Polish city of Gdańsk (Danzig), where he also spent his early years. In 1681, he started working for King Jan III Sobieski, decorating the facade of the royal chapel in Gdańsk, and creating statues for the Wilanów Palace and sepulchral sculptures in Żółkiew. In 1689, he moved to Warsaw, where he worked for Jan Dobrogost Krasiński.
In 1694, he left Poland to work as court sculptor for Duke Frederick Wilhelm I, in Berlin. He also worked as an architect and built many state buildings. The castle he designed in Berlin was partially destroyed by bombing in World War II and its remains were demolished by the subsequent Communist regime. He designed the famous Amber Room. His sculpted decoration for Arsenal in Berlin is a masterpiece of baroque expression and pathos. In 1713 his fame brought him to work for Tsar Peter the Great in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he not long after died of an illness.
Some survived works
- statue of Great Elector, Frederick Wilhelm I on horse, Charlottenburg, Berlin, 1689-1703 [1]
- epitaph of Adam Zygmunt Konarski, St. Mary's Cathedral of the Assumption, Frombork (Frauenburg) in Polish Royal Prussia, after 1683
- sculptures on facade of Krasiński Palace, Warsaw, Poland, 1682-3, 1689-93
