Goethe (1890)

by Heinrich Carl Johann Manger (1833 - 1891)

Photo Caption: Photo Caitlin Martin © 2010 for the Association for Public Art
  • Title

    Goethe

  • Artist

    Heinrich Carl Johann Manger (1833 - 1891)

  • Year

    1890; installed 1891

  • Location

    Horticulture Center grounds (Belmont Avenue and North Horticultural Drive, West Fairmount Park)

  • Medium

    Bronze, on granite base

  • Dimensions

    Height 8’6″ and 9' (bases 11′)

Commissioned by the Canstatter Volksfest-Verein, a German-American organization

Owned by the City of Philadelpha


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At A Glance

  • Commissioned by the Canstatter Volksfest-Verein, a local German-American organization

  • Goethe is a companion piece to Schiller by the same artist

  • Please check the hours for the Horticulture Center grounds before your visit

This bronze sculpture was commissioned by the Canstatter Volksfest-Verein, a local German-American organization, and is a companion piece to Schiller by the same artist and located on the Horticulture Center grounds.

Both artworks honor Germany’s great men of letters, who were frequent collaborators and friends. The artist Manger studied briefly at the Dresden Academy in Germany but was largely self-taught.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), excelled in literature, drama, theology, and science. His greatest work, the dramatic tragedy Faust, was published in its entirety after his death.

Voices heard in the Museum Without Walls: AUDIO program: Liliane Weissberg is Professor of German and Comparative Literature at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the co-author of Cultural Memory and the Construction of Identity (with Dan Ben-Amos). Hardy von Auenmueller is Chairman of the Board of The German Society of Pennsylvania, founded in 1764 to assist German immigrants. Today the organization furthers the understanding of German and German-American contributions to American history and culture. Heinz-Uwe Haus is an internationally renowned theater director who was born and educated in Germany. Haus now teaches at the University of Delaware. He is the author of Performing and Performance. | Segment Producer: Jonathan Mitchell

Museum Without Walls: AUDIO is the Association for Public Art’s award-winning audio program for Philadelphia’s outdoor sculpture. Available for free by phone, mobile app, or online, the program features more than 150 voices from all walks of life – artists, educators, civic leaders, historians, and those with personal connections to the artworks.

This artwork is part of the Around the Horticulture Center tour

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