Johanne Henriette Rosine Hendel-Schütz, née Schüler, (1772–1849) was a German actress, mimoplastic performer, dancer and singer.

Biography

Born on 13 February 1772 in

Döbeln Döbeln (; , ) is a town in Saxony, Germany, part of the Mittelsachsen district. It sits on the banks of the Freiberger Mulde, Freiberger Mulde river. Location and geography Döbeln is situated in the Central Saxon Hills, Central Saxon Hill co ...

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

, Hendel-Schütz was the daughter of the actor Carl Julius Christian Schüler. While still a small child, she performed at the Ekhof-Theater in

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

, where since 1775 she had been taught to dance by von Mereau, the court's dancing master. After a period in Breslau (1779–85), she attended the French school in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

where she was instructed by Johann Jakob Engel, the author of the widely acclaimed introduction to acting ''Ideen zu einer Mimik''. In 1788, when just 16, she married the opera singer Friedrich Eunicke with whom she toured to destinations including

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

and

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

. In Frankfurt, she met the painter Johann Georg Pforr who introduced her to the "attitudes" of Lady Hamilton who in 1787 had developed a new form of entertainment, combining classical poses with modern allure in loose fitting garments in what became known as mimoplastic art. They had been published as etchings inspired by the drawings of Friedrich Rehberg. Hendel-Schütz performed at theatres in Berlin (1796–1806) and Halle (1807–09). Her fourth marriage was with the historian Friedrich Karl Julius Schütz who accompanied her on her theatrical tours, on occasion also performing on the stage. From 1808, her appearances became increasingly based on her mimoplastic miming as she represented mythological figures in the Renaissance style, often basing her acts on paintings or statues. After first presenting them in Frankfurt, she took her imitations to Finland, Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands and France. Hendel-Schütz retired from the stage in 1818. Her retirement was spent in

Stargard Stargard (; 1945: ''Starogród'', 1950–2016: ''Stargard Szczeciński''; or ''Stargard an der Ihna''; ) is a city in northwestern Poland, located in the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. In 2021 it was inhabited by 67,293 people. It is situated on ...

and later in

Köslin Koszalin (; ; , ) is a city in northwestern Poland, in Western Pomerania. It is located south of the Baltic Sea coast, and intersected by the river Dzierżęcinka. Koszalin is also a county-status city and capital of Koszalin County of West Pomera ...

where she died on 4 March 1849.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hendel-Schutz, Henriette 1772 births 1849 deaths Women singers from the Holy Roman Empire People from Döbeln 18th-century German actresses German mimes 19th-century German dancers 19th-century German women singers