779 - J. RAAB (*1825) after KAULBACH (*1805), Goethe as a Skater, Advance Copy, Copper engraving

J. RAAB (*1825) after KAULBACH (*1805), Goethe as a Skater, Advance Copy, Copper engraving Johann Leonhard Raab (1825, Schwaningen – 1899, Munich) after Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1805, Arolsen – 1874, Munich): Goethe Skating on the Main, preliminary print, 19th century, copper engraving Technique: Copper engraving on paper Date: 19th century Description: As one of 21 panels from Wilhelm von Kaulbach’s Goethe Gallery (1857), this scene of the young Goethe gliding with youthful elegance on ice skates across the frozen Main stands out as a particularly cheerful depiction. Under the admiring gaze of the ladies present—among whom the poet’s mother, his sister, and Maximiliane Brentano can be seen on the right—he skates along with great vigor, while a boy behind him pays homage to him on the slippery ice. Alluding to an episode from *Poetry and Truth* (vol. IV, book 16), Kaulbach depicts Goethe wrapped in his mother’s warm fur on a freezing winter’s day. With his curly head raised carefree, the ice skater barely notices the appraising gaze of a young beauty in the foreground, who could be identified as his brief fiancée, Lili Schönemann. In the poems “Four Seasons” and “The Ice Rink,” Goethe himself described the wintry pleasure of ice skating with affection and irony, providing Kaulbach with a lively literary model. Trial proof made before the final painting and without the faces and other details fully rendered. Keywords: Wilhelm von Kaulbach; Goethe Gallery; Scene; Young Goethe; Skating; Main; cheerful depiction; admiring glances; Ladies; Mother; Sister; Maximiliane Brentano; Boy; Ice; Poetry and Truth; Fur; Ice Skater; Lili Schönemann; Poems; Four Seasons; The Ice Rink; literary model;; 19th century; Biedermeier; Genre; Germany; Size: Paper: 29.9 cm x 21.1 cm (11.8 x 8.3 in), additional specification: Paper: 39.7 x 28.8 cm Condition: Very good condition. Faint soiling and rubbing on the paper surface are visible in the margin. The image is in impeccable condition.