The Austrian architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt (1663-1745) introduced a lighter, more decorative quality into Austrian baroque architecture. In his works he emphasized structural clarity enlivened by ornamental touches.

Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt was born in Genoa, Italy, on Nov. 14, 1663, the son of a German officer in the imperial army stationed there. He was trained in Rome under Carlo Fontana in civil architecture, but he also studied town planning, military architecture, and fortification. In 1695-1696 Hildebrandt served as a military engineer under Prince Eugene of Savoy during his campaigns in the Piedmont. Late in 1696 Hildebrandt arrived in Vienna, where he remained for the rest of his life. By 1698 he was an imperial councilor and by 1699 court architect (surveyor general of imperial buildings). In spite of his official position, Hildebrandt found most of his clients among the aristocracy of the empire, for Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, as chief...