1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Schinkel, Karl Friedrich

​SCHINKEL, KARL FRIEDRICH (1781–1841), Germanarchitect and painter, and professor in the academy of fine artsat Berlin from 1820, was born at Neuruppin, in Brandenburg,on the 13th of March 1781. He was a pupil of Friedrich Gilly,the continuation of whose work he undertook when his masterdied in 1800. In 1803 Schinkel went to Italy, returning toBerlin in 1805. The Napoleonic wars interfered seriously withhis work as architect, so that he took up landscape painting,displaying a talent for the romantic delineation of naturalscenery. In 1810 he drew a plan for the mausoleum of QueenLouise and in 1819 a a brilliant sketch for the Berlin cathedral inGothic style. From 1808 to 1814 he painted a number ofdioramas for Gropins. From 1815 he devoted much time toscene painting, examples of his work being still in use in theroyal theatres of Germany. Schinkel's principal buildings are inBerlin and its neighbourhood. His merits are, however, bestshown in his unexecuted plans for the transformation of theAcropolis into a royal palace, for the erection of the OriandaPalace in the Crimea and for a monument to Frederick theGreat. These and other designs may be studied in his Sammlungarchitektonischer Entwürfe (1820–1837, 3rd ed. 1857–1858) andhis Werke der höheren Baukunst (1845–1846, new ed. 1874).