Prussian Academy of Arts. Architectural drawings and models
The holdings mainly date from the period from about 1770 to about 1820. In addition to two models – including one by Antonio Chichi (1743–1816) – the collection also includes drawings by Friedrich Gilly (1772–1800), Martin Friedrich Rabe (1775–1856), Karl Friedrich Schinkel (1781–1841) and Heinrich Gentz (1766–1811). Further sketches and drawings are by 19th-century architects who trained at the Academy in Berlin.
History of the institution
The Academy of Arts, founded in 1696, elected architects as members from its inception. With Andreas Schlüter, a renowned architect was one of the four rectors who headed the artists’ society. The collection of architectural records dates back to the late 18th century, when the Academy of Arts also provided training. At the beginning of the 19th century, these were transferred to the newly established Academy of Architecture. This meant that, up until 1945, only a small number of architecture-related objects became part of the Academy collection. When the Architecture Section was founded in the (West) Berlin Art Academy newly established in 1954, the collecting activities were expanded once again.
Archive and collection
179 plans and drawings and two models from the period from about 1770 to 1945.
History of the holdings
The architectural drawings and models from the early history of the Akademie der Künste were held by the institution in various departments before they were committed to the care of the newly established architecture archive in the mid-1990s.
