After Christian Daniel Rauch, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

This plaster bust reproduces the likeness of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany’s most celebrated poet and polymath. Goethe’s legacy shaped literary culture and intellectual life across Europe, and his image was often used in libraries and cultural spaces. Rauch’s neoclassical style captured Goethe’s gravitas and enduring influence. This copy, once displayed to inspire learning and reflection, was placed in storage in 1937, reflecting changing priorities around the time of the opening of the Br