Carl von Gontard
Carl Philipp Christian von Gontard (13 January 1731 in Mannheim – 23 September 1791 in Breslau) was a German architect who worked primarily in Berlin, Potsdam, and Bayreuth in the style of late Baroque Classicism. Next to Knobelsdorff, he was considered the most important architect of the era of Frederick the Great of Prussia.[1]
Carl von Gontard descended from a
After two years of study in Paris under Jacques-François Blondel and a lengthy sojourn in Italy he gained a reputation as a valued court architect to Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. In Bayreuth he designed an extension to the Bayreuth Palace and numerous palaces for the nobility and residences for prosperous citizens, buildings recognized as being of high artistic quality and giving the townscape a distinctive accent. Gontard also taught architecture at the Bayreuth Academy of Arts. When her husband, reigning prince Frederick, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, died in 1763, Gontard no long received regular commissions because of the policy of austerity of Frederick's successor, Frederick Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth.
In 1764 Gontard was employed by Wilhelmine's brother,
Gontard's main works in Berlin include the colonnade portico and tower of the German and French churches on Gendarmenmarkt; two decorative colonnaded bridges across the former moat, a remnant of the city's 17th century fortifications, (in 1776 the Spittelkolonnaden on Leipziger Straße, and in 1777/1778 the Königskolonnaden, originally near Alexanderplatz but later relocated to Heinrich-von-Kleist-Park); the Oranienburg Gate (1787/88) historic drawing; and supervision of the construction of the Royal Library on today's Bebelplatz, which he furnished with a grand staircase and a formal hall for festivities.
Immediately after the death of Frederick the Great, his successor,
He had significant followers in G. C. Unger, F. W. Titel, and H. Gentz, but no long-lasting successors as his style did not survive the change in architectural taste that came with the end of Frederick the Great's era.
Gallery
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The Brandenburg Gate in Potsdam
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Temple of Friendship in Sanssouci Park
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Am Bassin in Potsdam (2011)
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The Military Orphanage (Potsdam)
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The Marble Palace in the New Gardens, Potsdam
(This article incorporates information from the German Wikipedia)
References
- ^ a b Drescher, Horst, "Gontard, Carl Philipp Christian von" in: Neue Deutsche Biographie 6 (1964), S. 643 f.; [URL: http://www.deutsche-biographie.de/ppn119014807.html] Online version (in German)]
- ^ Photographs of five of Gontard’s rooms in the suite of Royal Chambers