623. Johann Gottfried Schadow (1765-1860), German,

Crown Princesses Louise and Fredrica of Prussia,

1796-1797. Marble, height: 172 cm.

Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin. Neoclassicism.

 

 

From 1780 Schadow was a major figure of German art, producing for almost half a century a considerable amount of private portraits in busts, and various sculptures destined for public monuments – among them the famous quadriga on the Brandenburger Tor in Berlin. After the marriage of the Prussian Crown Prince Frederick William and his young brother Ludwig with the Princesses of Mecklenburg-Strelitz in December 1793, Schadow was commissioned to produce the bust portraits of the two sisters. While creating the work, Schadow opted for a double full-length portrait. A life-size plaster version was first exhibited in 1795, then Schadow started working on a marble version which was exhibited in 1797. However, following the early death of Frederick William II, these two gracious figures left Schadow’s studio to be installed in an unused room of the Royal Palace in Berlin, hidden from public sight.

 

 

Johann Gottfried Schadow

(1764 Berlin – 1850 Berlin)

 

Prussian sculptor, Johann Gottfried Schadow was the son of a poor tailor. His first teacher was a sculptor, Tassaert, patronised by Frederick the Great; the master offered his daughter in marriage, but the pupil preferred to elope with a girl to Vienna, and the father-in-law not only condoned the offence but furnished money with which to visit Italy. Three years study in Rome influenced his style, and in 1788 he returned to Berlin to succeed Tassaert as sculptor to the court and secretary to the Academy. Over half a century he produced upwards of two hundred works, as varied in style as in subject.

Among his ambitious efforts were Frederick the Great in Stettin, Blücher in Rostock, and Luther in Wittenberg. His portrait statues include Frederick the Great playing the flute, The Crown Princesses Louise and Friedrike of Prussia. His busts, which reach a total of more than one hundred, comprise seventeen colossal heads in the Walhalla, Ratisbon; from the life were modelled Goethe, Wieland and Fichte. 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 on the Brandenburger Tor 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 him and others describe and illustrate his method and work.