Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach

Background

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach was born in Graz and baptized on 20 July 1656. His father was a provincial sculptor and artisan, and his mother was the daughter of a joiner. He received early training as a sculptor in his father's workshop, which contributed to interior sculptural decorations at the Landhaus and Eggenberg Palace.

Through the patronage of the Princes of Eggenberg, he traveled to Italy in 1671, joining the workshops of Johann Paul Schor and Gian Lorenzo Bernini in Rome. By 1685 he had followed Schor to Naples, amassing a fortune serving the Spanish viceroy. Returning to Austria in 1687, he secured the key position of court architect, serving three emperors.

During the 1690s, Fischer adapted the Italian Baroque to local needs. In 1690 he won acclaim for triumphal arches celebrating Joseph I's coronation, and in 1696 the monarch elevated him to the nobility.

His emblematic design from this period was the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy (commenced 1695). He also executed works for the Archbishop of Salzburg, including Holy Trinity Church (1694–1702), the Kollegienkirche (1696–1707), and Schloss Klessheim (1700–09). His visit to Dalmatia brought the influence of Diocletian's Palace to Western Europe.

After Emperor Joseph I's death in 1711, Fischer received fewer commissions as his rival Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt gained favor. He published his groundbreaking A Plan of Civil and Historical Architecture in 1721. His late synthetic style is most fully illustrated by Karlskirche in Vienna (started 1715), completed by his son Joseph Emanuel. Other late works include Clam-Gallas Palace in Prague (commenced 1713).

Did You Know?

• The 'casket of St. John Nepomuk' in Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral was designed by his son Joseph Emanuel, not Johann Bernhard.