Joseph Stieler; Neue Pinakothek, Munich AKG London		Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 1749 - 1832
			JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE was born in Frankfurt-am-Main in 1749. He studied law in Leipzig and in Strasbourg, where Herder introduced him to Shakespeare and to folk song. Under his influence he produced some of the most famous poems in the German language, and at twenty-four wrote Götz von Berlichingen, a play which brought him national fame and established him at the forefront of the 'Storm and Stress' movement. Werther, a tragic novel of unfulfilled love, was an even greater success. Goethe began work on Faust and on Egmont, another tragedy, before being invited for a brief stay with an admirer, the Grand Duke of Weimar. It was in Weimar, however, that he was to spend most of his life, much of it in government service. Frustrations and an interest in the classical world led him to leave suddenly for Italy in 1786, and the two-year absence that followed saw the beginnings of the dramas Iphigenie on Tauris and Torquato Tasso, while Italian Journey recounts his wealth of experiences in the country. Back in Weimar, friendship with Schiller was to prove another source of inspiration, and a steady stream of publications was to flow until his death. The most notable of Goethe's later achievements were the two volumes of Wilhem Meister and the ambiguous Elective Affinities, and, in drama, the second part of Faust. Besides his writing Goethe directed the State Theatre and worked on numerous aspects of natural science. He married his long-standing mistress in 1806 and died in 1832, soon after completing Faust.