Abraham van den Blocke

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The Langgassertor 1687

Abraham van den Blocke (* 1572 in Königsberg ; † January 31, 1628 in Gdansk ) was a Flemish architect and sculptor of Flemish origin, who mainly worked in Gdansk.

Father was the famous architect and sculptor Willem van den Blocke . Abraham van den Blocke was married three times (most recently since 1620 with Elisath Kramer, daughter of the Danzig city architect, Hans Kramer); 14 children are descended from him. Like his father, he was buried in the Marienkirche in Gdańsk . After five years of training with his father and abroad (mainly Holland), A. became a citizen of Danzig on September 14, 1596 and was granted master craftsman's rights there in 1597.

Stylistically, his works belong to the late Dutch Mannerism and Early Baroque .

In the period 1598–1611 van den Blocke created the main altar of the Gdańsk St. John's Church from partially gilded sandstone and red-veined marble with numerous reliefs, the main theme of which is the story of John the Baptist . At the same time, the great armory was decorated . He designed and built the Langgasser Tor (1612–1614) and the Neptune Fountain (from 1618 to 1621 he created all stone carvings such as basin, bowl and column as well as the seahorses, dolphins and lions' heads) and the Speymannhaus (" Golden House "). In 1597 he created the epitaph for J. B. Marchese Bonifazio Oria from Naples (died 1597), which is now in the Gdańsk Library of the Polish Academy of Arts.

In 1612 he built the house of the Abbots of Pelplin with its beautiful portal and a finely drawn gable; In 1614 he created the monumental grave of the married couple Simon and Judith Bahr in the parish church of St. Marien . The grave of the Koß family in the monastery church of Oliva was built in 1615 with four life-size figures made of white and black marble kneeling in front of a small crucifix. 1616–1617 built the facade of the Artus Court van den Blocke . He created numerous other epitaphs and tombs, including in the St. Antonius Chapel of the Church of Barczewo , an extension of St. Andrew's Church, the remarkable double tomb for Andreas Báthory , nephew of the Polish King Stephan Báthory , cardinal and 1589 prince-bishop of Warmia, as well as his brother Balthasar , 1560–1594, councilor of Transylvania. The double tomb was commissioned by the aforementioned cardinal for himself and his brother Balthasar, who died early, while he was still alive, and it was created in 1598.

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personal data
SURNAME Blocke, Abraham van den
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German architect and sculptor
DATE OF BIRTH 1572
PLACE OF BIRTH Koenigsberg
DATE OF DEATH January 31, 1628
Place of death Danzig