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Detail, southwest wing of palace; Gontard was summoned by Frederick II, King of Prussia, to Potsdam. As head of the building office from 1764, he was in charge of all royal building projects, and he was ennobled in 1767. His worked showed Neo-classical tendencies in forms still bound to the Rococo. This trend is continued in the extension (1763-1769; with Johann Gottfried Büring) of the Neues Palais in Potsdam, although Gontard was obliged to use 'Frederician Rococo' motifs. Opposite this palace he erected the Communs (buildings to accommodate the royal retinue) and a colonnaded exedra linking them (1768-1769). Over 400 sandstone statues and figures adorn the palace and auxiliary buildings. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 5/19/2015)