Andreas Schlüter

Andreas Schlüter (1659 – c. June 1714)[1] was a German baroque sculptor and architect, active in the Holy Roman Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Russian Tsardom.

Schlüter was invited to Berlin in 1694 by Eberhard von Danckelmann to work as court sculptor at the armory (Zeughaus) for Elector Frederick III.

While the more visible reliefs on the outside had to praise fighting, the statues of dying warriors in the interior denounced war and gave an indication of his pacifist religious beliefs (he is said to have been a Mennonite).

The Berlin City Palace, and many of his works, were partially destroyed by bombing in World War II and by the subsequent Communist regime.

In 1713, Schlüter's fame brought him to work for Tsar Peter I of Russia in Saint Petersburg, where he died of an illness after creating several designs.