What was Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff's most famous painting?
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Knobelsdorff was involved in the construction of St. Hedwig's Cathedral, but it is uncertain to what extent. Frederick II presented the Catholic community with complete building plans, which were probably primarily his ideas which were then realized by Knobelsdorff. The opera house, by contrast, was completely designed by Knobelsdorff and is considered to be one of his most important works. For the frontage of the externally modestly structured building the architect followed the model of two views from Colin Campbell's ""Vitruvius Britannicus"", one of the most important collections of architectonic engravings, which included works of English Palladian architecture. For the interior he designed a series of three prominent rooms with different functions, which were at different levels, and were decorated differently: the Apollo Hall, the spectator viewing area, and the stage. By technical means they could be turned into one large room for major festivities. Knobelsdorff described the technical features in a Berlin newspaper, proudly commenting that "this theater is one of the longest and widest in the world". In 1843 the building burned down to the foundation. In World War II it suffered several times from bombing. Each time the rebuilding followed Knobelsdorff's intentions, but there were also clear modifications of both the facing and the interior. Soon after they were completed, the opera house and St. Hedwig's Cathedral were featured in textbooks and manuals on architecture.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff (17 February 1699 – 16 September 1753) was a painter and architect in Prussia.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff, the son of Silesian landed gentry, was born on February 17, 1699 on the estate of Kuckädel (now Polish Kukadlo) near Crossen (now the Polish city Krosno Odrzańskie) on the Oder River. After the early death of his father he was raised by his godfather, the chief senior forester Georg von Knobelsdorff. In keeping with family tradition he began his professional career in the Prussian army. Already at 16 years of age he participated in a campaign against King Charles XII of Sweden, and in 1715 in the siege of Stralsund.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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Knobelsdorff was an enthusiastic collector of art, a fact unknown until the recent discovery of old inventory lists. He bequeathed to his friend, Lieutenant Colonel von Keith, an extensive collection of paintings and engravings virtually unmatched in 18th century Berlin. The trustees of his estate counted and appraised 368 paintings valued at ca. 5400 "Reichstaler" and over 100 engravings worth 400 "Reichstaler". It is not clear how Knobelsdorff could have purchased such a considerable collection. There was no regular art market at that time in Berlin; at most, there were individual sales or legacy auctions which sometimes also included works of art. Probably contacts with Amsterdam and Rotterdam, centers of a thriving Dutch art market, were of use. The focus of his art collection was on landscape painting, especially Dutch paintings from the second half of the 17th century. Portraits were another important part of the collection, and there were also some scenes of battles, reflecting the taste of the times. Contemporary painters were hardly represented, and there were 37 specimens of Knobelsdorff's own work. Soon after his death the collection was dispersed and sold.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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Frederician Rococo is a form of rococo, which developed in Prussia during the reign of Frederick the Great and combined influences from France, Germany (especially Saxony) and the Netherlands. Its most famous adherent was the architect Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff. Furthermore, the painter Antoine Pesne and even King Frederick himself influenced Knobelsdorff's designs. Famous buildings in the Frederican style include Sanssouci Palace, the Potsdam City Palace, and parts of Charlottenburg Palace.
Frederician Rococo
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Heinrich Ludwig Manger mentions Knobelsdorff in his ""Baugeschichte von Potsdam"" (1789/90). After listing 30 pieces of architecture which were realized in Potsdam alone according to his plans, he also writes about Knobelsdorff as a painter: "Although it does not really belong in a history of architecture.—he produced many paintings, all of them directly from nature. He paid attention to every detail which he thought could be of possible future use, and sketched them in his notebook, which he kept in a particular place of his clothing. These drawings are free and easy and dashed off in his own masterly way. [...] The same can also be said of his landscape paintings, because everything in them was painted from nature with a wonderful blending of colors, without being hard or too colorful" (translation).
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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While still a soldier he developed his artistic talents in self-study. After leaving military service he arranged to be trained in various painting techniques by the Prussian court painter Antoine Pesne, with whom he shared a lifelong friendship. Knobelsdorff also acquired additional expertise in geometry and anatomy. He saw his professional future in painting, and his pictures and drawings were always highly appreciated, even after the focus of his activities turned elsewhere.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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Charlottenburg Palace was hardly used under Frederick William I. His son considered residing there and right at the beginning of his reign had it enlarged by Knobelsdorff. Thus a new part of the building arose, east of the original palace and known as the new wing or Knobelsdorff wing. It contained two rooms famous for their decoration. The White Hall, Frederick the Great's dining and throne room with a ceiling painting by Pesne, leaves a restrained, almost Classicist, impression. By contrast, the Golden Gallery with its very rich ornamentation, green and gold colors is considered the epitome of Frederician rococo. The contrast between these two neighboring rooms makes clear the range of Knobelsdorff's artistic forms of expression. The king's interest in Charlottenburg waned as he began to consider Potsdam as a second official residence, started to build there, and finally lived there. Charlottenburg Palace was heavily damaged in World War II and after 1945 reconstructed in a form faithful to the original to a large extent.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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Karl Begas the younger created a statue of Knobelsdorff in 1886. This originally stood in the entrance hall of the Altes Museum (in Berlin) and is now in a depot of the state museum.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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His interest in architecture developed in a roundabout way, and came from representing buildings in his pictures. Later, the pictorial aspect of his architectural sketches was often noted and met with varying reactions. Heinrich Ludwig Manger, as an architect more a technician than an artist, wrote with a critical undertone in 1789 in his "Baugeschichte von Potsdam", that Knobelsdorff designed his buildings "merely in a perspective and picturesque way", but praised his paintings. Frederick the Great, in contrast, commented positively on the architect's "picturesque style" ("gout pittoresque"). There is also no evidence that the informal style of his drawings ever posed a serious impediment to the execution of his buildings.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff
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Knobelsdorff was influenced as an architect by French Baroque Classicism and by Palladian architecture. With his interior design and the backing of the king, he created the basis for the Frederician Rococo style at Rheinsberg, which was the residence of the crown prince and later monarch.
Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff