ThePrussian Academy of Arts (German:Preußische Akademie der Künste) was a state arts academy first established in 1694 byprince-elector Frederick III ofBrandenburg inBerlin, in personal union DukeFrederick I of Prussia, and later king inPrussia.
After theAccademia dei Lincei in Rome and theAcadémies Royales in Paris, the Prussian Academy of Art was the oldest institution of its kind in Europe, with a similar mission to other royal academies of that time, such as theReal Academia Española in Madrid, theRoyal Society in London, or theRoyal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm.
The academy had a decisive influence on art and its development in the German-speaking world throughout its existence. For an extended period of time it was also the German artists' society and training organisation, whilst the Academy's Senate became Prussia'sarts council as early as 1699.
It dropped 'Prussian' from its name in 1945 and was finally disbanded in 1955 after the 1954 foundation of two separate academies of art forEast Berlin andWest Berlin in 1954. Those two separate academies merged in 1993 to form Berlin's present-dayAcademy of Arts.[1]
Most artists were associated with the academy as members. Membership was an honorary distinction extended to prominent domestic Prussian artists (after unification, German artists) and selected foreign figures as well. A 'deliberative' body of senators was chosen from the membership – some elected, and some automatically included due to other rank.
The academy was not a school, although it had associations with educational institutions, notably the state school that evolved into the present-dayBerlin University of the Arts.
The academy was founded to include painters, sculptors, and architects as members, which reflected the classicalunity of the arts ideal. The scope was expanded in 1704 to include "Mechanical Sciences". The academy's first director (president) was Swiss painterJoseph Werner. In 1796, the Academy announced a competition for a monument in honour ofFrederick the Great.Friedrich Gilly designed a monumental temple in the style of revolutionary architecture (Revolutionsarchitektur) to be erected onLeipziger Platz in Berlin. Today, the design is part of the collection of theKupferstichkabinett Berlin.[4]
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Longtime director and sculptorJohann Gottfried Schadow served from 1815 to 1850. In 1833 the academy added a fine arts division, and a music division in 1835.
Emil Fuchs studied at the Academy underFritz Schaper andAnton von Werner, shortly before 1891.[5][6]Otto Geyer studied there from 1859 to 1864. SculptorWilhelm Neumann-Torborg studied at the academy from 1878 until 1885, underOtto Knille andFritz Schaper.[7] In 1885, he won the Academy's Rome Scholarship for his thesis, "The Judgment of Paris".[7]Anna Gerresheim studied there from 1876 for four years in the "ladies class" underKarl Gussow.Oskar Frenzel studied there between 1884 and 1889 underPaul Friedrich Meyerheim andEugen Bracht. He was from 1904 until his death a member of the Academy. PainterFriedrich Wachenhusen studied there in 1889 underEugen Bracht.
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In 1926 the academy added aDichtkunst (Fine Poetry) division, aDichtung (Poetry) division in 1932, and the German Academy of Poetry from the beginning of June 1933. From 1930 until his parting into exile in 1933, novelistHeinrich Mann was its president.
Painter and sculptorPaul Wallat studied there from 1902 to 1909 underOtto Brausewetter [de] (de) (1835–1904) andCarl Saltzmann. On 29 December 1906 he received the award of theGinsberg Foundation of the Berlin Academy. In 1920,Käthe Kollwitz became the first woman elected to the Prussian Academy, but with the coming to power ofAdolf Hitler in 1933 she was expelled because of her beliefs and her art.
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