( fl 1742; d Berlin, 1778–86). Brother of (1) Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt II. Hoppenhaupt represents a quite independent style of decoration in the context of the genre at the time of Frederick the Great. Typical elements of his style are naturalistically painted flowers and fruit. Hoppenhaupt is first recorded in Prussia in 1742. The ceiling of the Cedarwood Cabinet in the Stadtschloss at Potsdam (destr.) is his first independent design. Hoppenhaupt designed the decoration in parts of the Sanssouci Palace, Potsdam, including the royal bedroom (altered 1786). He also created the mirrors and overdoors in the small gallery and the encrusted marble floor and doors of the Room Maarmorsaal (marble). In 1746, with his brother Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt, he decorated the concert room in Sanssouci to uncompleted designs by Johann August Nahl. His greatest achievement at Sanssouci is the Voltaire Room (1752–3) where fruit and foliage are combined with monkeys and birds in exotically bright woodcarvings against a greenish-grey background, representing the transition into neutralism of late Rococo. The two brothers also collaborated on the extension of Frederick’s second apartment in the new wing (1747) of the Palace of Charlottenburg, Berlin. In the interior decoration of the theatre in the Potsdam Stadtschloss (1748; removed 19th century) Hoppenhaupt worked solely to plans by Georg Wenceslaus von Knobelsdorff. His Oranische Kammern in the Stadtschloss (1752) and the king’s writing cabinet were both destroyed in World War II. Hoppenhaupt largely controlled the interior furnishing of the Neues Palais in Potsdam (1763–9). He designed the decoration for most of the rooms, although he often had to work from rough sketches by Frederick and used some designs by his brother (e.g. Hunting Room, Lower Concert Room, Upper Concert Room). Among Hoppenhaupt’s most important works is the theatre in the Neues Palais, which shows him to be one of the most talented decorators of the European Rococo. Hoppenhaupt also worked as a decorative arts designer: in 1772 he supplied wax models for a set of five vases to be executed at the Berlin porcelain factory and it is possible that he designed many more works for this factory. Hoppenhaupt’s designs are often indistinguishable from those of his brother although his style is more severe.

Part of the Hoppenhaupt family

• Hoppenhaupt, Johann Christian
  • collaboration
    • Frame, §VI, 4: Germany and Central Europe: Rococo
    • Hoppenhaupt: (1) Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt II
    • Nahl, Johann August
  • patrons and collectors
    • Hohenzollern: (7) Frederick II, King of Prussia
    • Potsdam, §2: Schloss Sanssouci
  • reproductive prints by others
    • Meil, Johann Wilhelm
  • works
    • Germany, §V, 3: Interior decoration, c 1700–c 1790