Johann Wolfgang von Goethe statue - Chicago, IL
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N 41° 55.964 W 087° 38.312
16T E 447062 N 4642504
This heroic statue pays homage to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) the famous German writer and philosopher. Goethe as a young, beautiful and dynamic Adonis with a mighty eagle, who inspires thought and deed of his mind and body.
Waymark Code: WM7TJ7
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 12/01/2009
Views: 6
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"In 1911, the Goethe Monument Association held a competition to select a sculptor for the memorial. The committee members specified that they did not want a figurative portrait of Goethe. They believed that this directive would release artists “from the trammels of costume and conventionality” and permit them “to give free flight to their imagination and enthusiasm.” The Art Institute displayed the nine models produced by the artists who had participated in the competition. The winning project was submitted by Herman Hahn (1868-1944), a professor and sculptor from Munich, Germany. He created a Greek god-like figure of young man with an eagle on his knee to symbolize Goethe’s “Olympian achievements.” Hahn’s design, installed in 1913, includes a low wall with a bas relief portrait of Goethe himself, as well as a quotation from his Faust, in both German and English. In 1951, the bronze statue was struck by lightening and the left foot crumbled. The statue was removed and the ankle, foot, and base were recast. In 1998, national nonprofit organization entitled Save Outdoor Sculpture! sponsored the conservation of the enormous bronze sculpture. A couple of years later, the park district also restored the sculpture’s landscape setting."
The inscribed words ..
The last result of wisdom stamps it true:
He only earns his freedom and existence,
Who daily conquers them anew.
Thus here, by dangers girt, shall glide away,
Of childhood, manhood, age, the vigorous day:
And such a throng I fain would see,
Stand on free soil among a people free ..
- Faust
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe [1749- 1832]
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Inscription: (On front of base:) TO/GOETHE/THE MASTER MIND OF THE/GERMAN PEOPLE/THE GERMANS OF CHICAGO/1913
Description: An idealized youthful godlike figure of heroic proportions stands on a square base with his proper right leg raised and resting on a stone. He is nude except for a cape that sweeps around to cover his raised knee. His proper right hand rests on his hip. An eagle is perched on his proper right knee. The eagle may be a symbol for the German Nation. There is also a low wall behind the statue that displays a relief portrait of great German poet, Goethe, and a quotation in both German and English from his drama "Faust."
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