Johannes Gottfried Götz (4 October 1865 in

Fürth Fürth (; East Franconian: ; yi, פיורדא, Fiurda) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the t ...

– 11 September 1934 in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and, with around 183,000 inhabitants, largest city of the German state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

) was a German sculptor.

Life

He was the son of a carpenter. After attending the

Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg The Academy of Fine Arts Nuremberg (german: Akademie der Bildenden Künste Nürnberg) was founded in 1662 by Jacob von Sandrart and is the oldest art academy in German-speaking Central Europe. The art academy is situated in Nuremberg. Classes ...

, in 1884 he went to Berlin to study sculpture with

Reinhold Begas Reinhold Begas (15 July 1831 – 3 August 1911) was a German sculptor. Biography Begas was born in Berlin, son of the painter Carl Joseph Begas. He received his early education (1846–1851) studying under Christian Daniel Rauch and Ludwig ...

at the

Prussian Academy of Arts The Prussian Academy of Arts (German: ''Preußische Akademie der Künste'') was a state arts academy first established in Berlin, Brandenburg, in 1694/1696 by prince-elector Frederick III, in personal union Duke Frederick I of Prussia, and late ...

up until 1890. His figure of a nude female water carrier won the Academy's "Prix-de-Rome", which enabled him to study there for two years. He later became a Professor at the Academy in Nuremberg. His work gained the attention of Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918. Despite strengthening the German Empir ...

, who chose him to produce a group of figures for the Kaiser's monumental

Siegesallee The Siegesallee (, ''Victory Avenue'') was a broad boulevard in Berlin, Germany. In 1895, Kaiser Wilhelm II ordered and financed the expansion of an existing avenue, to be adorned with a variety of marble statues. Work was completed in 1901. A ...

(Victory Avenue) project. Later, in 1909, at the Kaiser's request, he produced a gigantic statue of

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's ''Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Peleus, k ...

in a victorious stance for the Achilleion, a palace on

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

built by

Elisabeth of Bavaria Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria (24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898. Elisabeth was ...

. The statue was meant to offset an earlier work by

Ernst Herter Ernst Gustav Herter (14 May 1846, Berlin – 19 December 1917, Berlin) was a German sculptor. He specialized in creating statues of mythological figures. Life and work Herter studied at the Academy of Arts in Berlin and later also as apprent ...

called the "Dying Achilles". He lived in Fürth for most of his life and many of his works are located there, including grave and tomb decorations for thirteen of the city's notable families. His own parents' grave is adorned with a figure called "The Weary Wanderer". Götz himself is, however, buried in Potsdam. In 1952, a street was named after him in the Dambach district of Fürth.FürthWiki: Johannes-Götz-Weg
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Selected works

Berlin *

Quadriga A () is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast and favoured for chariot racing in Classical Antiquity and the Roman Empire until the Late Middle Ages. The word derives from the Latin contraction of , from ': four, and ': yoke. The four- ...

on the

National Kaiser Wilhelm Monument The National Kaiser Wilhelm Monument (''Kaiser-Wilhelm-Nationaldenkmal'') was a memorial structure in Berlin dedicated to Wilhelm I, first Emperor of Imperial Germany. It stood in front of the Berlin Palace from 1897 to 1950, when both structures ...

* Siegesallee Group 19: consisting of

Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

as the central figure, flanked by

Albert of Mainz Cardinal Albert of Brandenburg (german: Albrecht von Brandenburg; 28 June 149024 September 1545) was a German cardinal, elector, Archbishop of Mainz from 1514 to 1545, and Archbishop of Magdeburg from 1513 to 1545. Biography Early career B ...

(his younger brother) and Dietrich von Bülow (?-1523),

Bishop of Lebus The Diocese of Lebus (; ; ) is a former diocese of the Catholic Church. It was erected in 1125 and suppressed in 1598. The Bishop of Lebus was also, '' ex officio'', the ruler of a lordship that was coextensive with the territory of the diocese. T ...

Fürth * "Jugendbrunnen" (Youth Fountain) in front of the fire station. * Busts of

Wilhelm Löhe Wilhelm may refer to: People and fictional characters * William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm" * Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname Other uses * Moun ...

and other notables from Fürth in the Kirchenplatz Other * Statues of

Antoninus Pius Antoninus Pius (Latin: ''Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius''; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatoria ...

and

Theodor Mommsen Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (; 30 November 1817 – 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar, historian, jurist, journalist, politician and archaeologist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest classicists of the 19th cent ...

at Saalburg Castle, near

Bad Homburg Bad Homburg vor der Höhe () is the district town of the Hochtaunuskreis, Hesse, on the southern slope of the Taunus mountains. Bad Homburg is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main Regional Authority, Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area. The town's offic ...

. *

Hermann Wissmann Hermann Wilhelm Leopold Ludwig Wissmann, after 1890 Hermann von Wissmann (4 September 1853 – 15 June 1905), was a German explorer and administrator in Africa. Early life Born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Wissmann was enlisted in the Army in 1870 ...

Monument in

Bad Lauterberg Bad Lauterberg is a town in the district of Göttingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the southern Harz, approx. 15 km southwest of Braunlage, and 20 km southeast of Osterode am Harz. Bad Lauterberg is known ''inter alia' ...

* Monuments to Queen Louise and

Johannes Gutenberg Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg (; – 3 February 1468) was a German inventor and Artisan, craftsman who introduced letterpress printing to Europe with his movable type, movable-type printing press. Though not the first of its ki ...

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

References

External links

Waymarking: The Jugendbrunnen.

Statues Hither and Thither: The Gutenberg Monument in Magdeburg.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotz, Johannes 1865 births 1934 deaths People from Fürth Academy of Fine Arts, Nuremberg alumni Prussian Academy of Arts alumni 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists 19th-century German sculptors German male sculptors

Life

Selected works

References

Further reading

External links