Rauch, Christian Daniel

Rauch, Christian Daniel (b Arolsen, nr. Kassel, 2 Jan. 1777; d Dresden, 3 Dec. 1857).
The leading German sculptor of the first half of the 19th century, active mainly in Berlin. His training included lessons from Johann Gottfried Schadow. From 1804 to 1818 he lived mainly in Italy, where he was influenced by Canova and Thorvaldsen, but he modified their Neoclassical idealism with a close study of nature, particularly noticeable in his portraits. He worked for the court in Berlin, the royal houses of Bavaria and Hanover, and numerous aristocratic patrons in Germany and elsewhere. His most famous work is the elaborate equestrian monument of Frederick the Great (c.1835–51) in Unter den Linden, Berlin, and also well known is his monument to Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg (1828–40). These are in bronze, but he worked mainly in marble, notably in his portraits; his sitters included many eminent contemporaries.