Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von ( 1749 – 1832 ),born at Frankfurt am Main, trained for the law against his inclination. In 1775 he was invited by the duke of Weimar , Karl August , to his court, and thereafter spent most of his life in Weimar: he was raised to the nobility in 1782 . In 1791 he was appointed director of the Weimar court theatre, a post he held for many years. Throughout his life he was interested in a variety of pursuits, including painting, for which he had only a mediocre gift, though his scattered critical remarks on the visual arts are of great interest. In the field of scientific research he evolved a new theory of the character of light, expounded in the Farbenlehre (Treatise on Colour, 1810 ). He also made important discoveries in connection with plant and animal life.
His most famous literary work was the poetic drama in two parts, Faust . His first important work was Götz...
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