SUSTRIS, Friedrich
(b. ca. 1540, Venezia, d. 1599, München)

Biography

Painter, draughtsman and designer, son of Lambert Sustris. He was presumably first taught by his father. Records show that Friedrich Sustris was probably in Rome in 1560 and certainly in Florence from 1563 to 1567, where he participated in the decoration of the Palazzo Vecchio and worked on Michelangelo's catafalque under the direction of Vasari (1564). In the following year he drew cartoons for Grand Duke Cosimo de' Medici's tapestry works and became a member of the Accademia del Disegno.

His first principal was Hans Fugger who ordered the decoration of the Fugger mansion in Venice. From 1573 onwards Sustris worked for William V, Duke of Bavaria in Landshut before he became chief architect to the Bavarian court with William's accession to the throne in 1579.