Knobelsdorff, Georg Wenzeslaus, Freiherr von
Knobelsdorff, Georg Wenzeslaus, Freiherr von (1699–1753). Prussian aristocrat, architect, and soldier. He was a friend of Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia (1712–86—later King Frederick II (the Great)), and built for him the circular Tuscan temple of Apollo in the gardens of Amalthée at Neu-Ruppin, Brandenburg (1735). After a journey in Italy (1736–7), Knobelsdorff enlarged Schloss Rheinsberg, near Neu-Ruppin, introducing a pronounced French note with coupled columns on the water front derived from Perrault's east front of the Louvre. When Frederick became King in 1740, Knobelsdorff was appointed Oberintendant (Director) of Buildings and Gardens. He added a new wing to Schloss Monbijou, Berlin (1740–2), and another at Schloss Charlottenburg, Berlin (1740–3), with a sumptuous Rococo interior, and designed the new Opera House on the Unter den Linden, Berlin (1740–3). The last was the first example of a Palladian Revival in Prussia, with a design closely derived from Colen Campbell's Wanstead House, Essex, illustrated in Vitruvius Britannicus (1715 and 1725).
When the King moved his Court to Potsdam, Knobelsdorff remodelled the Stadtschloss there (1744–51), with Rococo interiors (destroyed). The enchanting Schloss Sanssouci—also known as the Weinberg-Schloss because it stands above a series of glazed terraces forming conservatories for growing vines—Potsdam (1745–7), survives, one of the most charming masterpieces of Rococo ever erected. A single-storey building with an elliptical Neo-Classical Marmorsaal (Marble Hall) in the centre, it has paired terms instead of pilasters on the exterior. He also designed St Hedwig's Cathedral, Berlin, built by Boumann and Büring (1742–73), renovated the Schloss at Dessau, Anhalt (1747–51), and designed many other buildings in Potsdam.
When the King moved his Court to Potsdam, Knobelsdorff remodelled the Stadtschloss there (1744–51), with Rococo interiors (destroyed). The enchanting Schloss Sanssouci—also known as the Weinberg-Schloss because it stands above a series of glazed terraces forming conservatories for growing vines—Potsdam (1745–7), survives, one of the most charming masterpieces of Rococo ever erected. A single-storey building with an elliptical Neo-Classical Marmorsaal (Marble Hall) in the centre, it has paired terms instead of pilasters on the exterior. He also designed St Hedwig's Cathedral, Berlin, built by Boumann and Büring (1742–73), renovated the Schloss at Dessau, Anhalt (1747–51), and designed many other buildings in Potsdam.
Bibliography
E. Hempel (1965);
Kadatz (1983);
Streichhan (1932);
Jane Turner (1996);
van Vynckt (ed.) (1993);
Watkin & and Mellinghoff (1987)
More From encyclopedia.com
Karl Friedrich Schinkel , Schinkel, Karl Friedrich
Schinkel, Karl Friedrich (1781–1841). Prussian architect, the greatest in Germany in the first half of C19. He was not only… Andreas Schluter , Schlüter, Andreas
Schlüter, Andreas (c.1659–1714). Born in Danzig (now Gdańsk, Poland), he is claimed as a major Baroque sculptor and architect by bo… Leo Von Klenze , Klenze, Leo von (1784–1864). German architect. He created some of the finest C19 buildings in Bavaria, notably in Munich, which he helped to transfor… Hans Scharoun , Scharoun, Hans Bernard (1893–1972). German architect. Sometimes described as influenced by Expressionism, he was actually more eclectic, drawing on i… Jean de Bodt , Bodt, Jean de (1670–1745). Huguenot military engineer and architect who left France after 1685, trained in The Netherlands, arrived in England in 168… Ernst Werner Von Siemens , Siemens, Ernst Werner von
SIEMENS, ERNST WERNER VON
(b. Lenthe, near Hannover, Germany, 13 December 1816; d. Berlin-Charlottenburg, Germany, 6 Decemb…
About this article
Knobelsdorff, Georg Wenzeslaus, Freiherr von
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Knobelsdorff, Georg Wenzeslaus, Freiherr von