Johann Gottfried Schadow

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Johann Gottfried Schadow (20 May 1764 – 27 January 1850) was a German Prussian sculptor. He was born in Berlin, where his father was a poor tailor. He trained as a sculptor with Antoine Tassaert, who worked for the Prussian court. Schadow eloped with Marianne Devidel in Rome, and Tassaert supported them financially. In 1786 he won the prize from the Accademia di San Luca in Rome and, influenced by Antonio Canova, he returned to Berlin in 1788 to become court sculptor and secretary to the Prussian Academy of Arts and the Royal Porcelain Factory. His first major Berlin work was the tomb of Alexander von der Mark, son of Friedrich Wilhelm II.

Over fifty years Schadow created around 200 works in different styles. Notable pieces include statues of Frederick the Great in Stettin, Blücher in Rostock, and Luther in Wittenberg. His popular portrait statues include Frederick the Great with his dogs and the Princess Monument of Louise and her sister Frederica. In 1795 there was a dispute with his gypsum modeler Beyer over one of his works. He produced many busts, including 17 colossal heads in the Walhalla at Regensburg, with life portraits of Goethe, Wieland, and Fichte.

Schadow also designed church monuments and memorials, though he is best known for classical and idealist sculpture. His two most celebrated works are the Quadriga on the Brandenburg Gate and the allegorical frieze on the Royal Mint in Berlin. As director of the Berlin Academy, he wrote about human proportions and national physiognomy, and many volumes describe his methods. His interest in physiognomy is shown by his drawing of Harry Maitey, the first Hawaiian in Prussia. Today some of his sculptures and busts are in the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche and the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

Schadow befriended Goethe; Goethe’s son visited him in Weimar, and Schadow made 12 bronze medals of Goethe, one of which is in the British Museum. He died in Berlin in 1850. His sons Rudolph (sculptor) and Friedrich Wilhelm (painter) were notable, and he was the grandfather of Admiral Felix von Bendemann and uncle to the sculptor Emil Wolff.