Biography

Schinkel was a highly accomplished and versatile artist and architect. His refined, classically inspired buildings, transformed early nineteenth-century Berlin. He was, however, as much concerned with interior furnishings as architecture, and designed furniture, textiles, metalwork and ceramics. He was also renowned for his paintings of romantic landscapes and designs for stage sets. He trained and worked in Berlin but travelled widely, visiting Italy, France and Britain. Schinkel was in Edinburgh in 1826 and made some drawings of Playfair's newly completed Royal Institution (now the Royal Scottish Academy Building).