Leo von Klenze (born Franz Karl Leopold Klenze; 29 February 1784 – 26 January 1864) was a German architect and painter. He was the court architect of Ludwig I of Bavaria.
Klenze was a devotee of Neoclassicism and one of the most prominent representatives of Greek Revival style.
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Biography
Leo von Klenze studied architecture and public building finance under Friedrich Gilly in Berlin, and worked as an apprentice to Charles Percier and Pierre François Léonard Fontaine in Paris. Between 1808 and 1813, he was a court architect of Jérôme Bonaparte, King of Westphalia. He later moved to Bavaria and began work as court architect of Ludwig I in 1816.
Ludwig I's passion for Hellenism shaped the architectural style of Klenze. He built many neoclassical buildings in Munich, including the Ruhmeshalle and Monopteros temple. He designed the layout of Königsplatz, a neoclassical square in Munich. Near Regensburg, he built the Walhalla temple, named after Valhalla.
Klenze designed and arranged museum galleries in Munich, including the Glyptothek, Ludwig I's museum for ancient sculpture, and the Alte Pinakothek, a painting gallery for the pictures of the Wittelsbach collection that opened in 1836. The Alte Pinakothek was situated in an open park land, the Kunstareal, and became a national gallery. The functional logic and the modernity of the Alte Pinakothek were much admired. The Alte Pinakothek was acknowledged as the most advanced museum building in Europe and Klenze was invited to London in 1836 by the House of Commons. There, was interviewed about Bavarian cultural policies and the Alte Pinakothek. Klenze detailed the educational and political aspects of the Munich museums, which were free to the public.