Johann Gottfried Schadow (20 May 1764 – 27 January 1850) was a German

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. His most iconic work is the chariot on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, executed in 1793 when he was still only 29.

Biography

Schadow was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, where his father was a poor tailor. He trained as a sculptor under Antoine Tassaert, who was patronized by

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

. Taessert offered his daughter in marriage. but the pupil preferred to elope with a Jewish girl, Marianne Devidel in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and Taessert not only condoned the offense but furnished money for their stay in Italy. After he married Devidel in Rome he also won the sculptors prize from the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fi ...

in 1786.. Having been influenced by the sculptor Antonio Canova during his stay in Rome he returned to Berlin in 1788 to succeed Tassaert as sculptor to the court and secretary to 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 ...

. Upon his return, his first work was the tomb of the son of the Prussian King

Friedrich Wilhelm II Frederick William II may refer to: * Frederick William II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1603–1669) * Frederick William II, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Beck (1687–1749) * Frederick William II, Prince of Nassau-Siegen (1706–1734) * Frede ...

, Alexander von der Mark. Over half a century he produced upwards of two hundred works, varied in style as in subjects. Among his ambitious efforts are Frederick the Great in Stettin, Blücher in

Rostock Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...

and

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

Wittenberg Wittenberg ( , ; Low Saxon: ''Wittenbarg''; meaning ''White Mountain''; officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg (''Luther City Wittenberg'')), is the fourth largest town in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Wittenberg is situated on the River Elbe, north o ...

. His portrait statues of Frederick the Great with the dogs and the Princess Monument Louise and her sister Frederica with the princesses Louise and Federica became very popular. The second one was copied many times illegally which lead to a temporary dispute between his gypsum modeler Beyer and the sculptor in September 1795. His busts, of which there are more than one hundred, include seventeen colossal heads in the Walhalla, Ratisbon;

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

, Wieland, and

Fichte Johann Gottlieb Fichte (; ; 19 May 1762 – 29 January 1814) was a German philosopher who became a founding figure of the philosophical movement known as German idealism, which developed from the theoretical and ethical writings of Immanuel Ka ...

were modelled from life. Of church monuments and memorial works thirty are enumerated; yet Schadow hardly ranks among Christian sculptors. He is claimed by classicists and idealists: the

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

Brandenburger Tor The Brandenburg Gate (german: Brandenburger Tor ) is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after restoring the Orangist power by suppressing the Dutch popular unrest. One ...

and the allegorical frieze on the facade of the Royal Mint, both in Berlin, are judged among the happiest studies from the antique. Schadow, as director of the Berlin Academy, had great influence. He wrote on the proportions of the human figure, on national physiognomy, etc.; and many volumes by himself and others describe and illustrate his method and his work. His interest in physiognomy is documented by the drawing he made of Harry Maitey, the first Hawaiian in Prussia. Today, some of his sculptures and busts are displayed in the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche and the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin. Schadow developed a friendship with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe when at first Goethe's son visited Schadow in Weimar. Schadow created 12 bronze medals of Goethe. One such medal is in the property of the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

. In 2009, one such medal was bestowed by the

Goethe Institute The Goethe-Institut (, GI, en, Goethe Institute) is a non-profit German cultural association operational worldwide with 159 institutes, promoting the study of the German language abroad and encouraging international cultural exchange and ...

upon Dr.

Daisaku Ikeda is a Japanese Buddhist philosopher, educator, author, and nuclear disarmament advocate. He served as the third president and then honorary president of the Soka Gakkai, the largest of Japan's new religious movements. Ikeda is the founding pre ...

in recognition of his contributions to peace and Goethe's philosophy. He died in Berlin in 1850. His sons Rudolph and Friedrich Wilhelm were notable for sculpture and painting, respectively. He was the grandfather of admiral Felix von Bendemann of the

German Imperial Navy The Imperial German Navy or the Imperial Navy () was the navy of the German Empire, which existed between 1871 and 1919. It grew out of the small Prussian Navy (from 1867 the North German Federal Navy), which was mainly for coast defence. Wilhel ...

.Judentum in Deutschland
Luebeck-kunterbunt.de File:Brandenburg Gate Quadriga at Night.jpg, The centrepiece of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin Image:Friederike von Preußen by Johann Gottfried Schadow.jpg, '' Frederica of Prussia'' File:Melanchthon with Luther behind, by Schadow, Melanchthon House Museum, Wittenberg.jpg, Melanchthon with Luther behind, by Schadow, Melanchthon House Museum, Wittenberg File:Crown Princess Louise of Prussia & Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, after Johann Gottfried Schadow, Royal Porcelain Factory, Berlin, c. 1825-1850, porcelain - Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University - DSC01295.jpg, The '' Prinzessinengruppe'': Schadow's famous statue of Friederica (right), with her sister, Louise File:Schadow Harry von den Sandwich Inseln um 1825 SMB Kupferstichkab.jpg, Drawing of Harry Maitey, chalk and graphite, October 26, 1824

Family

He was uncle to the sculptor Emil Wolff.

References

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schadow, Johann Gottfried 1764 births 1850 deaths Artists from Berlin People from the Margraviate of Brandenburg 18th-century German sculptors 18th-century German male artists German male sculptors 19th-century German sculptors Recipients of the Pour le Mérite (civil class)