(b K?nigsberg [now Kaliningrad], 1572; d Gdansk, 31 Jan 1628). Sculptor and architect, son of (1) Willem van den Blocke. Trained in his father's studio, in 1597 he became a master and a member of the artists' guild. His first important work was the main altar (1598-1611) in St John, Gdansk, after a presented design. His style slowly evolved from the polychrome, ornamental forms of northern late Mannerism to early Baroque plain and severe architectonic forms in black marble. In tomb sculpture of complex architectonic framing he applied the motif of a kneeling figure, for example in the free-standing monument of Justyna and Szymon Bahr (1614-20; Gdansk, Our Lady) and those of Henryk Firlej, Archbishop of Poland (1627-8; Lowicz, Collegiate Church; completed by W. Richter) and Mikolaj Dzialynski, Voivode of Chelmno (after 1604; Nowe Miasto Lubawskie).
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