SCHLÜTER, Andreas

(b. ~1660 Hamburg, d. 1714 St. Petersburg)

German sculptor and architect, active mainly in Berlin. Influenced by the Italian sculptors Michelangelo and Bernini, Schlüter worked in carved stone, cast bronze, and stucco relief. He was the leading Baroque sculptor in northern Germany, and his masterpiece is the splendid equestrian monument to the Great Elector Friedrich-Willem (Charlottenburg Castle, Berlin, 1696-1708). Schlüter’s most successful architectural work was the New Palace in Berlin (1706, destroyed in World War II).

He fell under a cloud when some of his architectural work collapsed, and he moved to St Petersburg, where he died soon after arriving.

Exterior view

The picture shows the gateway of the palace. The building was destroyed in 1950 due to damages suffered in World War II.

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Interior view

The picture shows the great staircase hall of the palace. The building was destroyed in 1950 due to damages suffered in World War II.

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Prince Elector Frederick William the Great

This statue was cast in bronze by Johann Jakobi and inaugurated in 1703; the base (height 270 cm) was finished in 1708. Born in Hamburg, Schl�ter studied in Danzig, in Holland, Paris and Italy. Court sculptor first at Warsaw and then in Berlin, he fell into disgrace in 1706 and died in St. Petersburg. He was a born sculptor whose feeling for monumentality was developed to e high degree. This statue is one of the most spectacular performances of Baroque sculpture - the symbolic glorification of political absolutism.

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