Kraft, Adam (c. 1460-c. 1508)

German sculptor. He worked in an elaborate late Gothic style, as seen in his tabernacle in the Church of St Lawrence in Nuremberg (1493-96), for which he made not only the sculptures but also the whole highly imaginative architectural edifice - a tiered spire about 19 metres (62 feet) high.

Kraft's work was all produced in his native Nuremberg, where he was given the most prestigious commissions. Among his finest works are his seven reliefs of the Stations of the Cross near the entrance to St John's Church (1505-08). His outstanding work, however, is the tabernacle in the Church of St Lawrence, where there are, among the many figures of humans and animals, portraits of Kraft himself and two apprentices, kneeling and supporting the base of the structure.