Christian Friedrich Tieck, born in 1776 in Berlin, was an important figure in the Berlin School of Sculpture during the 19th century. His extensive portfolio, not solely limited to Berlin, included numerous portrait sculptures. He significantly contributed to the designs of several buildings by neoclassical architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel, mainly the Royal Theatre at Gendarmenmarkt, now known as the Konzerthaus Berlin.
As early as 1807, Ludwig I of Bavaria, then Crown Prince, had planned Walhalla. Tieck produced 23 of the inaugural portraits, the majority in 1812 and 1813, some as late as 1832, and a single one in 1835.
Details about Tieck's personal life remain scarce. His late marriage, seen as partly tragic and partly scandalous, suggested a scheme to settle his significant debts. However, once his in-laws discovered the arrangement, they immediately stopped all payments to his new, young wife.
Unlike his friend and fellow Walhalla sculptor, Christian Rauch, Tieck received few major commissions from the royal court after his work at Walhalla. He passed away on May 12, 1851, alone and disheartened.