Samuel Theodor Gericke (1665-1729)

"Samuel Theodor Gericke or Gerike (1665-1730) was a German painter. Born in Spandau in 1665, he became at first a student of Rutger van Langevelt, and later of Gedeon Romandon.

In 1694 he went to Rome to get prints, books, drawings and plaster casts for the Prussian Academy of Arts in Berlin, which would be established in 1696. In Rome, he was a student of Carlo Maratta. Gericke returned to Berlin in 1696 and was appointed court painter. In 1699 he became Professor of Perspective at the Academy, and one of its first 8 rectors. he served as the annual Director of the Academy a few times." - (en.wikipedia.org 31.01.2020)