6C1 



OTHO OF FREYSINGEW, 



OT\VAY, THOMAS. 



602 



imperious pactUl about the right of nominating to vacant benefices. 

 Otho returned to Germany, where Waldeinar, kiug of Denmark, was 

 extending his conquests along the southern coast of the Baltic. Soon 

 after, a general discontent, which was encouraged by the clergy, burst 

 out against him, and he was deposed in 1212 ; and Frederic of Hohen- 

 stauffeu, king of Sicily, was called to fill the throne of his ancestors. 

 Otho however had still a considerable party, and he protracted the 

 contest till 1215, when he resigned his claims to his rival. [FRE- 

 DERIC II., EMPEROR.] 



OTHO, or OTTO, OF FREYSINGEN, born aboub 1103, was the 

 son of Leopold, margrave of Austria, and of Agnes, daughter of the 

 Emperor Henry IV. He studied firat at Niirnberg and afterwards in 

 the University of Paris, after which he entered the order of St. Bernard 

 in the abb :y of Morimond, of which in 1138 he was made abbot. His 

 relative Courad III., king of the Germans, recalled him to his native 

 country and made him Bishop of Freysingen in 1133. He afterwards 

 followed Conrad in the crusade to Palestine. On his return he felt a 

 wish to visit the abbey of Morimond again, where he died, after a short 

 illness, in 1158, much revered for his knowledge and piety. He wrote 

 a chronicle of tlie world in seven books, ' Ottonis Episcopi Frisingensis 

 Herum ab origine Miiudi ad ipsius usque Tempora,' folio, Augsburg, 

 1515. The first four books of this Chronicle are a mere compilation 

 from Orosius, Eusebius, Isidore of Seville, and other previous writers ; 

 but the last three books contain much original information, especially 

 concerning the affairs of Germany in the 10th, llth, and 12th centuries. 

 Otho is an impartial and trustworthy historian, and judicious for the 

 times in which he lived. His Chronicle was continued down to the 

 year 1210 by another Otho : ' Appendix Ottonis a S. Blazio a fine libri 

 gepjtimi Ottonis usque ad annum Salutis, 1210.' The other works of 

 Otbo of Freysingen are 1, A treatise concerning tha end of the world, 

 according to the Book of Revelations, which is generally appended to 

 his Chronicle ; and 2, A history of the Emperor Frederic I., called 

 Barbarossa, ' De Gcstis Frederic! ^Enobarbi libri duo,' which comes 

 down to the year 1159, but has been continued by Radewik, oanon of 

 Freysingen, down to 1160. 



(Vossius, De Hittoricit Latinis ; Fabricius, Sibliotheca Latince media: 

 nlala.) 



OTTLEY, WILLIAM YOUNG, F.RS., F.S.A., keeper of the prints 

 in the British Museum, was born in 1771. 'Early in life his studies 

 were directed towards art, and though he did not eventually follow 

 painting as a profession, he continued till late in life to use his pencil. 

 The only picture which he appears to have publicly exhibited was one 

 of large size ' The Fall of Satan,' which appeared at the Royal Aca- 

 demy in 1823. In 1791 he went to Italy and remained there about 

 ten . years, engaged partly in copying paintings and drawings by 

 the great masters, and in procuring copies to be made of them by 

 others, but also in collecting works of art. He was fortunate in pro- 

 curing numerous fine works of the early masters, and he obtained an 

 excellent collection of drawings and engravings. Soon after his return 

 he set about the preparation of a work illustrative of the progress of 

 Italian art, for which his collections afforded him great facilities. The 

 first part of ' The Italian School of Design : being a Scries of Fac- 

 similes of Original Drawings by the most eminent Painters and 

 Sculptors in Italy, with Biographical Notices and Observations ' 

 appeared in fol. in 1 80S ; but the work though much admired was too 

 costly to meet with a ready sale, and the second part was not published 

 till 1812, while the third and concluding part did not appear till 1823. 

 Meanwhile Mr. Ottley was brought into close connection with the 

 leading patrons and connoisseurs of art in England, and came to be 

 regarded as one of the leading authorities in questions of taste, and 

 besides the preparation of the works noticed below he was called upon 

 to advise in the purchase of separate pictures, as well as the arrange- 

 ment and formation of galleries. His admirable collection of drawings 

 by the great masters he sold to Sir Thomas Lawrence for 80002., and it 

 formed a considerable portion of the famous collection which the 

 government unfortunately permitted to be scattered on the death of 

 thjit celebrated painter. Mr. Ottley was in 1833 appointed keeper of 

 the prints in the British Museum. He at once applied himself to the 

 then much-needed task of examining thoroughly the state of the entire 

 collection of engravings in that institution, and preparing a classified 

 index of it He died on the 2oth of May 1836, in his sixty-fifth 

 year. 



The chief works of Mr. Ottley, in addition to his ' Italian School of 

 Design" mentioned above are : ' An Enquiry into the Origin and Early 

 History of Engraving upon Copper and on Wood,' 2 vols. 8vo, 1816 ; 

 ' Engravings of the Marquis of Stafford's Collection of Pictures in 

 London,' 4 vola. fol., 1818; ' Series of Plates engraved after the Paintings 

 of the most eminent Masters of the early Florentine School,' fol., 1826; 

 ' A Collection of One hundred and twenty-nine Fac-Similes of Scarce 

 Prints by the early Masters of the Italian, German, and Flemish 

 Schools, Illustrative of the History of Engraving from the Invention of 

 the Art, with Introductory Remarks,' 4to, 1826-28. 'Notices of 

 Engravers and their Works, being the commencement of a new Dictio 

 nary, which it is not intended to continue,' 4to, 1831. He also 

 published a brief ' Descriptive Catalogue of the National Gallery.' 

 Some of the works in the above list are of a very splendid and costly 

 character ; and all of them have been of use in extending a taste for 

 and increasing a knowledge of art in this country. It must be added 



however that Mr. Ottley cannot be placed either as a critic or historian 

 in a very high rank. 



OTTMER, KARL THEODOR, an architect to whom Brunswick 

 is indebted for what ranks almost among the largest, and certainly 

 among the most elegant, palaces in Europe, was born in that city, 

 January 19th, 1800. He was the son of a physician, who intended 

 him for the same profession ; but his father's death leaving him free 

 to follow his own inclination, he made choice of architecture as his 

 future destination, and certainly had no cause to repent of doing so, 

 being eminently favoured even from the commencement of his career 

 by opportunities that fall to tha lot of few. While he was completing 

 his studies in his profession at Berlin, in 1822, he competed for and 

 was employed to erect the new theatre there, called the 'Kb'nigs- 

 stiidter Theater,' which was begun in July 1823, and opened in the 

 August of the following year. This decided success on the part of 

 one so young it being in fact his 'coup d'essai,' brought Ottiner 

 forward at once : it should however be mentioned that, although it 

 was not known at the time, his designs were corrected by Schinkel. 

 [SCHINKBL.] In his next work of note, the 'Siug-academie' at Berlin 

 (erected 1826-27), his design obtained preference of that of Schinkel, 

 although the latter was in very superior taste, and indeed one of the 

 happiest ideas of the 'great master,' as may be seen by the published 

 drawings of it in his ' Eutwiirfe.' Flattering as all this was, it was 

 not without its disadvantages, as by immersing him too early and too 

 completely in matters of mere business, it hindered that calm appli- 

 cation to study which is so important to an artist at the outset. There 

 was besides very great danger of his being spoilt by the exaggerated 

 praises bestowed on his first efforts, praises which, it has been 

 suspected, proceeded partly from a desire to lessen the reputation 

 and keep down the influence of Schinkel. Fortunately Ottrner felt 

 the necessity of improving himself ; aud after first studying a short 

 time in Paris, he visited Italy, where he remained nearly two years 

 (1827-29); aud where he was so far inspired as to conceive the project 

 and work upon the designs for a palace that should surpass every 

 known edifice of the kind in extent and magnificence. . 



He was recalled to Germany by an invitation from Dresden, when 

 it was intended to build a new ' Theater,' and he proposed designs 

 accordingly ; but the scheme was dropped for several years, and then 

 Semper was the architect employed on the noble structure since 

 erected there. The designs produced for that occasion procured how- 

 ever for him, while he was at Dresden, a commission from the Duke 

 of Saxe-Meiuingen to make others for a theatre and casino for him, 

 and the buildings were forthwith commenced. On his return to 

 Brunswick he published, in 1830, the first part of his ' Architektonis- 

 cheu Mittheilungen,' containing plans, &c., of his Theatre at Berlin. 

 At that time his professional occupation consisted of little more than 

 his official duties as Hofbaumeister, nor had he much prospect of 

 being called upon to execute any work of importance, when during a 

 popular tumult which took place in September 1830, the palace at 

 Brunswick was set fire to and destroyed. He was thereupon directed 

 by the new duko, Wilhelm (the successor of his brother Karl, who was 

 expelled by the revolution), to make designs for rebuilding the palace ; 

 and the edifico was begun the following year, and prosecuted with 

 such activity as to be ready for habitation in 1837. The principal 

 mass is 400 feet in extent, by upwards of 200 in depth, and 80 high, 

 and in the centre considerably loftier ; and although Ottmer*s design 

 was not fully carried out, it is still a stately and elegant pile ; indeed 

 even now it has been objected to it that it is upou too extravagant 

 and costly a scale. The architect's labour must have been very great, for 

 besides that he was obliged to superintend every department of the works 

 personally, from first to last, ho designed all the numerous details 

 both of the exterior and interior, which display considerable inventive 

 power as well as good taste. The principal entablature of the exterior 

 extending altogether 2000 feet in length is entirely of caat-iron, 

 and much equally excellent and novel construction is displayed in 

 other parts. The interior is distinguished by many striking pieces 

 the lower entrance vestibule, a Grecian Doric hall 150 feet in length ; 

 the parade staircase ; the upper vestibule, a rotunda 70 feet in dia- 

 meter, and 60 high; gallery; theatre; concert-room; banqueting- 

 room, &c. 



Besides the palace, Ottmer erected at Brunswick several other 

 structures, both public and private, all of them, more or less, of 

 architectural note : viz. the Theater-Iutendantur, the Infantry 

 Barracks, in the Florentine style, with a fa^-ade of 350 feet ; the Iron 

 Bridge, the Villa Bulow, New Richmond, the Schmidtache-Haus, the 

 Interim Railway Station, &c. He also made a design for Cavalry 

 Barracks at Brunswick, in similar style to those for the infantry; 

 which design was published in Ronsberg's ' Zeitschrift fur praktisuhe 

 Baukunst,' 1842. Naturally of a delicate constitution, Ottmer sank 

 under the multiplicity of his tasks in the prime of life, August 22ud, 

 1843. 



OTWAY, THOMAS, an eminent English dramatist, was born at 

 Trotten, in Sussex, March 3rd, 1651. He received his education at 

 Winchester school, and was entered a commoner of Christchurch, 

 Oxford, in 1669. Having left the University without a degree, he 

 went to London, where he commenced player, but met with little 

 success on the stage. The fame which was denied to him as an actor 

 he endeavoured to obtain as an author, and iu 1675 ho produced 



