Johann Gottfried Schadow: Embracing Forms

Widely considered the founder of the Berlin School of sculpture, the German neoclassical sculptor Johann Gottfried Schadow is perhaps best-known for the figurative sculpture Princesses Monument (1795–97), depicting the princesses of Prussia, Louise and Frederica. As the home of the world’s largest collection of Schadow’s work, the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin (21 October–19 February 2023) is an apt location for this presentation of the sculptor’s works. The exhibition includes more than 150 works – among them the newly-restored original plaster cast of Schadow’s sculpture of the princesses as well as delicate preliminary sketches for his masterpiece and the artist’s terracotta self-portrait (c. 1791). Also on show are extracts from the artist’s rarely seen theatrical writing, which reveal the process behind the creation of the double sculpture. Find out more on the Alte Nationalgalerie’s website.

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Double statue of Princesses Louise and Frederica of Prussia (1795), Johann Gottfried Schadow. Gips Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie / Andres Kilge

Self-portrait (c. 1791), Johann Gottfried Schadow. Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie/Andres Kilge

Double statue of Princesses Louise and Frederica of Prussia (1809/10), Johann Gottfried Schadow. Photo: © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett/Volker-H. Schneider

Satyr (c. 1800), Johann Gottfried Schadow. Photo: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie/Andres Kilger