Adriaen de Vries
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Adriaen de Vries (The Hague ca.1556 - Prague 1626) was a Dutch Mannerist sculptor, who excelled in bronze casting.
Born in The Hague to an apothecary, it is unknown where he learned how to sculpt. However, he left home and travelled to Florence, where he worked with the master Mannerist sculptor Giambologna. He later worked as a sculptor in the court of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy in Turin, and around 1593 he worked in Prague, making busts and reliefs for Emperor Rudolf II. These sculptures are now housed in Vienna. He remained in Prague after Rudolf's death in 1612, until his own death in 1626. During this period of time he was commissioned by several German cities, and he was also commissioned to make the Neptune fountain for the gardens of the king of Denmark's royal palace. One of the statues from this fountain is now displayed in the Rijksmuseum.
Two of his more famous sculptures are the Mercury and Hercules and the Hydra fountains, both made in Augsburg.
The biggest collection of De Vries sculptures are now to be seen in Stockholm, Sweden. After the Thirty Years War, the Swedes pillaged Prague and took a great many statues. In particular the Duke of Wallenstein's statues, that used to adorn his palace on the lesser side of Prague. The statues are now to be found in the royal domain of Drottningholm outside Stockholm. Another famous statue now at Drottingholm by de Vries was the Hercules Fountain at Fredensborgs, Denmark. These sculptures were also taken as prize of war during the Swedish-Danish war of 1658.
At Drottningholm Palace a new museum, called the Museum De Vries opened in 2005. It houses a remarkable number of statues by this great master.
