Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von

Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (b Frankfurt, 28 Aug. 1749; d Weimar, 22 Mar. 1832).
German writer, scientist, patron, and amateur artist, one of the giants of European culture. Throughout his career he devoted much time to studying art and was a prolific draughtsman. His talent in this field was modest, but his writings were influential on the visual arts, particularly in the growth of Romanticism. Initially he stressed the role of passion in art, but after visiting Italy in 1786–8 he had a greater appreciation of the classical tradition. His writings on art included a book on colour theory (Zur Farbenlehre, 1810; translated into English by Eastlake, 1840), in which he purported to refute the Optics of Newton, and a German translation of Cellini's Autobiography (1798). Many other pieces were published in the periodical Die Propyläen (1798–1800), which he founded as a mouthpiece for his views, and in a series of occasional volumes he edited entitled Über Kunst und Altertum (Art and Antiquity, 6 vols., 1816–32). He was a friend and patron of numerous artists, including Friedrich and Tischbein, and his imaginative works were an inspiration to many others; Delacroix, for example, produced a set of lithographs (1828) illustrating his Faust. See also Minimal art.