Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: biography, photos, works, quotes. The bonds of marriage or another romance

Margaret's exit from the church. Painting by Wilhelm Koller. Left - Mephistopheles and Faust. A part of the Gothic portal is visible, diligently and competently traced. To the right is a piece of a medieval German town. Pay attention to the clothes of Margarita and her maid (especially the headdresses).

Margaret's exit from the church. Painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. In the central part of the picture is a nun with a rosary. Margarita leaves accompanied by her brother. Faust is almost invisible behind the pedestal with the Crucifixion.

Margaret's exit from the church. Painting by Sandor Liesen-Meyer.

Margarita in the church. Painting by Thomas Barker.

Margarita in the church. Painting by James Tissot. Tissot interpreted "Faust" in the manner of the Flemish "Autumn of the Middle Ages".

Margarita is a true tragic heroine: she is guilty and feels guilty herself. She tries to make amends for her sin in the fall with Faust in prayers before the Mother of God in the cathedral. In addition to the consciousness of moral guilt, Margarita also speaks of the consciousness of sin, which is instilled in her by the church, and the fear of punishment. Having committed an immoral offense, she not only does not find support and help, but feels the punishing hand of the church raised above her. That is why it is difficult for her to breathe from the powerful sounds of the organ, the vaults of the cathedral press on her. And if she committed a crime, killed her child, it is only because he will not be recognized by the church.

Date of Faust and Marguerite. Painting by Uri Schaeffer. A typical canvas in the spirit of Mannerism. Date of Faust and Marguerite. Painting by James Tissot. Another brilliant Flemish styling.

Painting by Daniel Maclise.

Faust dreams and asks Mephistopheles to meet her. Mephistopheles, on the other hand, seeks to distract Faust from his lofty thoughts and inflames his passion for the girl. For a moment, Mephistopheles succeeds in his plan, and Faust demands that he help him seduce the girl. But the girl's room of Margarita (Gretchen), in which he appears, awakens the best feelings in him. He is fascinated by the peace, simplicity, cleanliness and modesty of this dwelling:

How the spirit of peace breathes everywhere here, Everything is permeated with order all around! What contentment is there in the midst of poverty! Holy place! Blessed home! ... I would not leave, it seems from here! Cherished nature in light dreams Here is an angel ...

A painting by the Breton Pascal Danyan-Bouvre - Marguerite with her daughter who was killed by her.

Margarita feels tragically lonely. Goethe expressively draws the forces that fall on the unfortunate victim and destroy him. Margarita is a true tragic heroine: she is guilty and feels guilty herself. She tries to make amends for her sin in the fall with Faust in prayers before the Mother of God in the cathedral. In addition to the consciousness of moral guilt, Margarita also speaks of the consciousness of sin, which is instilled in her by the church, and the fear of punishment. Having committed an immoral offense, she not only does not find support and help, but feels the punishing hand of the church raised above her. That is why it is difficult for her to breathe from the powerful sounds of the organ, the vaults of the cathedral press on her. And if she committed a crime, killed her child, it is only because he will not be recognized by the church.

Faust and Mephistopheles. Painting by Mikhail Vrubel.

Faust is a scientist who is in search of truth. Mephistopheles is a fantastic image with features of a skeptic and wit, the devil, a symbol of doubt, denial and destruction. And in Margarita you can see the real type of a German girl of the 18th century.

294 p. Luxurious gold-embossed publishing calico binding. 33x25 cm. Drawings - carved on copper, by V. Hecht and V. Krauskopf. Printed in artistic special fonts by M.O. Wolf's type foundry, in the artistic printing house of Breitkopf and Hertel in Leipzig. The edition is exquisitely decorated with 50 paintings by A. Liezen Mayer, including 9 etchings per sheet! Composite patterned artistic endpapers made of paper tinted on gold, with a complex pattern of floral ornament! Triple gold edge of the block! The edition is beautifully illustrated with a great variety of engravings and illustrations on separate sheets, drawings and engravings in the text! Artistic design of the entire edition: original screensavers and vignettes, endings and more. etc. The publication is printed on coated paper! Price in the Full catalog of publications of comrade M.O. Wolf - 15 rubles! According to the Illustrated Catalogue, the large volume went on sale in three versions: in embossed gold and silver binding (worth 25 rubles), in the same pebbled binding (30 rubles) and without binding (20 rubles).

Strugovshchikov, Alexander Nikolaevich(1808-1878) - poet and translator; graduated from St. Petersburg University Noble Boarding School; served in the War Department. Published in a number of well-known publications and magazines. He owned translations of Faust and other works by Goethe, translations of Schiller's works. A.N. Strugovshchikov was at one time one of the best translators of Goethe. His works were highly literary, and always brilliantly conveyed the spirit of the translated works.

This is how this book is described in general terms in the Illustrated Catalog of Books by the Bookseller-Publisher M.O. Wolf”: “The most popular creation of the German poet is in the proposed edition in a magnificent form, making it the most elegant decoration of the living room, a wonderful gift and a precious belonging to the library of every book lover. The enormous difficulties that the illustration of Faust has presented so far have been completely overcome by the American artist Liesen-Meier, and next to the wonderful paintings of Liesen-Meier, both in their composition and in their execution, there are decorations by another master, Seitz, in the style of German old editions. Exhibited at one time in St. Petersburg, Liesen-Meier's original paintings for "Faust" attracted general attention, and quite often the commendable reviews of critics confirm that Liesen-Meier far surpassed other illustrators of "Faust": Kaulbach, Kreling and others. Such a laudatory description is quite justified: "Faust" in Wolf's edition is really magnificent. It can rightfully be considered one of the best illustrated editions of the late 19th century.

FAUST (German: Faust)- the hero of the folk book "The Story of Dr. Johann Faust, the famous sorcerer and warlock", published in Frankfurt am Main by Johann Spies (1587). Faust is a historical figure, very numerous information about this figure has been preserved. He lived in the first half of the 16th century and, according to some sources, he was really a doctor, according to others - a master. Johann Faust is mentioned by Luther's colleague, Melanchthon; there are memories of his stay in Salzburg, as well as evidence of his learning, various talents, about practicing black books, magic and witchcraft. All these facts are reflected in the image of Faust in the folk book. His story was told in such a way that the impact of the book was edifying. Faust's parents were good Christians and God-fearing people, but the son did not inherit piety and humility from them. Studying theology, Faust did not disdain practicing witchcraft. His mind was “quick, inclined and committed to science. At the same time, he had a bad, absurd and arrogant head "That's why Faust set out to learn more than ordinary people, to comprehend "all the depths of heaven and earth." With the help of all sorts of spells, F. decided to call the devil to help him achieve the impossible. “Curiosity, freedom and frivolity won”, and he came to the Spesser forest, where he managed to meet the devil. The next day, the devil appeared in Faust's dwelling to find out what this scientist, not satiated with knowledge, wants from evil spirits. Faust puts forward his own conditions, the main of which is that the devil should always be subject to him and fulfill any desire, so that all the secrets of “this world”, and not only this, but also other worlds (hell and paradise), reveal to him in full.

The devil agrees to all the conditions and concludes a contract for twenty-four years, after which the body and soul of Faust will be at the disposal of the servants of hell. The contract was signed in blood, and now the devil faithfully serves the master. The stories of the devil (in the popular book he is called Mephistopheles) about hell and all the horrors of the underworld frighten Faust. In rare moments of a dissolute life, he is visited by regret about the concluded deal, but entertaining adventures, power over people, success in astrological studies distract him from thoughts of a terrible end. The devil does not allow Faust to marry, for marriage is a Christian matter, but on the other hand, all the women who liked him are at his service, and Faust sins, indulging in carnal pleasures. The devil gives the hero the ability to fly above the ground; with the help of spells, he fulfills Faust's old dream - he calls from the past Helen of Troy, who has a son from Faust - Justus Faustus. As the time allotted to him by the devil approached, Faust began to lament his unrighteous life. On the last day, Faust gathers students, feasts with them and says goodbye forever - the next morning, students find his torn corpse. Since its inception, the folk book has been processed many times for theatrical performances. In the Age of Enlightenment (before the appearance of Goethe's Faust), the image of Faust is interpreted as a type of scientist who improves his mind and strives to learn as much as possible. The edification of a folk book is lost, for example, in Friedrich Müller (The Life and Death of Doctor Faust, 1776) and in Friedrich Maximilian Klinger’s novel The Life, Deeds and Death of Faust (1791), where the character acquires the features of a “stormy genius”, close to the emerging romanticism.

"Faust"- the most popular creation of Goethe - was published by M.O. Wolf in a magnificent form, making it the most elegant decoration of the living room, a wonderful gift and a precious belonging to the library of every book lover. Until then, the illustration of Faust had been associated with great difficulty, and in fact, the illustrations by the American artist Liezen-Meyer were the first absolutely successful and brilliantly executed work in creating visual images for the work. The drawings are very thin, detailed, perfectly convey the dynamics and tension of the scenes, mostly in rich gray-black color. The artist's drawings were remarkable in their composition and execution, the best addition to them were the decorations of another master, R. Seitz, in the style of German old editions. The original paintings by Liezen-Meier were initially exhibited in Europe, then in St. Petersburg, and won universal love, including critical criticism. M.O. Wolf acquired the right to publish them from the Munich publisher Streff, who was the owner of these works.

In the present edition they are reproduced by engraving on copper. A special place in the book is occupied by decorative design elements. Illustrations, even the smallest ones, are almost always closely tied to the text. Together with illustrations and text, they create a special image, the unique style of "Faust", favorably distinguishing it from many gift editions of that time. In the design of the book, everything was thought out to the smallest detail, starting with the fonts, which are different versions of the Russian “Elseviers” by M.O. Wolf, frames, headpieces and vignettes, made in the technique of end woodcuts and printed with letterpress, to the general composition of the publication. The book contains many page-by-page illustrations of various formats. The publication is characterized by an unobtrusive mixture of styles in design, from romanticism to modernity, which increases the artistic polyphony, sophistication and value of this publication. Now about paper. For the endpapers in the book, thin yellowish vellum paper is used - without any drawings, ornaments, inscriptions, without watermarks. The next grade of paper was used for one sheet of "Faust" - the title page.

This is ivory paper, dense, smooth, without a pronounced texture, characteristically yellowish-beige. The title page of "Faust" is decorated in a modern style, completely different from the general style of the publication, and ivory paper perfectly emphasizes the individuality of the title of this book. Another very interesting grade of paper was used only for engravings based on drawings by the artist Liezen-Meyer (there are fifty of them in the book, so there are also fifty sheets of thick paper on which they are printed). This engraving paper is very similar in quality, color and texture to modern watercolor paper, only the first one is two to three times thicker. Paper without gloss, porous, dense, like cardboard, with a pronounced texture, yellowish-beige color. It looks like very thick drawing paper. In this regard, we will quote from the book by S.F. Librovich “At the book post”, which suggests the origin of this paper: “In 1879, M.O. Wolf came up with the idea of ​​publishing Faust in Russian with the magnificent Litzen-Meyer cartoons that had just appeared in Munich. Librovich mentions Liesen-Meier's "cartons" and, indeed, the paper used in Faust for printing the artist's engravings can hardly be called otherwise. This is actually thin cardboard - apparently, Wolf wanted to reproduce the engravings in the book entirely as they were in the original - on "cardboards". Sheets of rice paper serve as a spacer between the engravings and the sheets of the book. The paper is white, thin, the husk is visible through the light. A sheet of rice paper is always laid on the side of the image in the engraving, regardless of the location of the engraving in the book.

The last type of paper used in Faust is the most commonly used. This is the paper on which the text and illustrations in the text are printed. The paper is snow-white, reminiscent of a modern landscape, but thinner. Its surface is slightly rough, as if velvet. It seems to me that this is a special kind of white vellum paper, which has greater resistance to abrasion, more delicate than the grade of vellum commonly used in Wolf publications. The main font of "Faust" can be considered the already familiar Elsevier Wolf - the same as in the "Divine Comedy" and "Native Echoes". It is used both in its original form and in various variations. For the text of the book and the table of contents, the usual Wolf's Elsevier, small size, black is used. To highlight the actors, their names in the text are typed in italic Elsevier. The inscriptions that precede major sections of the book (Table of Contents, Initiation, Prologue in the Theater, Prologue in Heaven, and so on) - they are usually located on half-titles - are typed in narrowed red capital Elsevier. The first letter of each word in such an inscription is an initial, also red (most likely, a special initial font was compiled for them). We will talk about them in more detail when we touch on the decorative elements of the book. In addition to the above, there is another initial font in Faust. Such an initial opens the verse of each new scene, in height it is only two to two and a half times the capital letter of Elsevier (the size used in Faust). A serif initial, similar to a broad skeletal-type Elsevier. Inside and around such an initial, there are linear ornaments, thin and not distracting from the letter itself (that is, it is quite recognizable and does not get lost in the patterns surrounding it). The same initial font, but with minor changes, we could see on the title page of "Native Echoes". The only difference is that, for example, the letter "H" in "Faust" is superimposed with the same ornament that was on the letter "B" in "Native Echoes". And the letter "H" in "Native Echoes" was with the same ornament as the ornament superimposed on the letter "K" in "Faust". That is, the letters of the wide skeletal Elsevier remained the same, the patterns decorating them were the same, they just changed places. One way or another, this thin initial font in the form of individual caps is perfectly combined with the Elsevier of the main text, without overloading the page with decorative elements and complementing the illustrations. On the reverse side of the title page of Faust, two types of fonts are used for the imprint: the first is in capital letters. Wolf's Elsevier - at the top of the page and the second, very similar to Lehman's capital book Elsevier - at the bottom of the page. The title page of Faust deserves special attention with regard to fonts - in my opinion, the fonts used for it are atypical for Wolf's publications, they would have looked much more organic in Symbolist or Futurist publications. First of all, the font in the title of the book - the name "Faust" attracts attention. This is a very interesting, rounded capital font, which, in my opinion, can be attributed to the "modern" style. The serifs of this font either flow smoothly from the thin, but greatly expanding towards the serif of the main font, or bevel and turn into a kind of extension element (the upper serif at the letter “A”), or where you expect to see a serif, you find a “drop”, that took its place (the upper and lower serifs of the letter “U” The letters have a slightly shifted, so to speak, “center of gravity.” For example, the letter “U” has a much thicker crossbar than the main stroke (usually the opposite happens). Black font color, large font size (in my drawing it is shown in full size).The use of a similar font, like the next one I'm talking about, seemed to me a new trend among embossed fonts with monograms, which M. O. Volf The following capital font, it seems to me, could be used on a Soviet propaganda poster of the twenties and thirties rather than on the title page of the Volfovsky edition. The font is geometric, chopped, almost without serifs (there are vertical serifs, as in the letter " Z"), those main strokes that are carried above or below the line are beveled to the left at an angle of forty-five degrees. It seems to me that this is a modified sans serif typeface. Interestingly, in sentences typed in this font, dots in the form of squares are not in their place, but on the line of the optical middle of the letters. The font is ocher, typed in medium size, about seven millimeters high. On the title page, this font contains information about the author, translator, artist, publisher and place of publication. The last two fonts I described are no longer found in the five editions to which this work is devoted.

A special place in the book is occupied by decorative design elements. Together with illustrations and text, they create a special image, the style of "Faust", favorably distinguishing it from many gift editions of that time. On the title page of "Faust" it says: "Ornamental decorations by R. Seitz" - apparently, it is he who should be given credit for the beautifully executed frames framing the illustrations and text on each page of the publication (I do not mean the sheet with Liezen-Meyer's engravings, since they were printed separately from the book). The frames seem to be built from blocks, each of which has its own pattern, its own image, but all the blocks together form a common stylized frame and are enclosed in a simple rectangular frame. I'll talk about the least interesting frame first, as it appears quite often throughout the pages of this book. It contains striped illustrations (not Liezen-Meyer) - this is done so as not to overload the page with pictorial elements - and part of the text, along with illustrations, from the "Table of Contents" to "Prologue in the Theater". The frame is thin, rectangular, black, absolutely straight, without decorations. In the inner space of the frame, retreating approximately 3 mm from its edge, three even thinner frames are located one inside the other, the distance between which is 1 mm. Also, this frame combines the bars of which the carved frames are made, that is, in one form or another, this frame is present on every page. Without additional frames, it is only on those pages where there are large illustrations. Starting with the Prologue in the Theater, the frames of each spread of the book (without strip illustrations) change one by one. I counted seven different ones (there are two symmetrical frames on one spread - one per page). These frames are voluminous, thick, black with various images in white: floral ornaments, vases, ribbons, imitation of woodcarving. These frames were made using the woodcut technique and printed with letterpress. In the same technique, a few polytypages-ends were made, an ocher-colored vignette, which is on the title page under the author's name and before the title, apparently, by the same Seitz. They are ornamental compositions with plant elements and are found three or four times at the end of different scenes of the work. The initials should also be mentioned. Those that are found in the text of the work, we examined in detail together with the fonts of "Faust", but others that are found in the titles of large sections require a more detailed study. Such an initial rises above the other letters of the section name, although it is based on the same narrow capital Elsevier, which is typed in the whole word. Like the whole name, it is red in color. On the main and connecting red stroke of the initial, white patterns are launched - monograms resembling lace. Such lace, only red, adorns the inter-letter space of the initial, and in some cases even wraps around the entire letter, sometimes extending even over the line to the end of the name (as, for example, in the title "Faust" on the first half-title preceding the title page). Except for the “Table of Contents”, all red initials and, accordingly, the titles of the sections are inside strip drawings - engravings.

Now let's move on to what makes Faust a gift book in the first place - luxurious illustrations. There are an incredible number of them in the publication, and each, even the smallest illustration, is a masterpiece. The book contains many page-by-page illustrations of various formats, from small to striped, as well as fifty illustrations arranged with rice paper on cardboard by A. Litzen-Mayer, according to information from the Illustrated Catalogue, an American, according to Librovich, a Hungarian. One way or another, the owner of his work was the Munich publisher Streff, from whom Wolf acquired the right to reproduce Litzen-Meier illustrations in Russia. Librovich describes these illustrations, calling them etchings, and says that “due to enormous technical difficulties, the publication had to be printed not in Munich, but in Leipzig, in the well-known artistic printing house of Breitkopf and Hertel, in Russian Elsevier fonts, purposely cast in St. Petersburg and sent to Leipzig” . This is Librovich speaking. And the "Illustrated Catalogue" mentions fifty paintings "carved on copper by W. Grecht and W. Krauskopf." But what can I say about the pictures printed on cardboard by A. Liezen-Mayer, having familiarized myself with them de visu. These illustrations, despite the yellow background of the cardboard, are very contrasting: white places are thoroughly whitened, black ones are incredibly black. But even in the darkest places of the picture, strokes are visible, of which there are a large number in the illustrations of Liezen-Mayer. Strokes are everywhere, everything consists of strokes, while the direction of the lines and their changing thickness expressively convey the plasticity of the depicted object. Despite the play of light and shadow, the detail of the stroke, the picture seems to be in a haze. The image is slightly convex, you can feel every stroke with your fingers, and in general it seems that in front of you is not a reproduction, but a genuine graphic picture drawn with ink and pen on cardboard. From all this, I concluded that in front of me is a sample of engraving on copper, reproduced on cardboard by intaglio printing. The rest of the numerous drawings in the text are made in the favorite M.O. Wolf in the woodcut technique and reproduced, respectively, in letterpress. The illustrations were engraved by the same W. Grecht and W. Krauskopf, as well as some Stroel and Doering, judging by the inscriptions on the engravings. Most often, the name of the engraver Grecht is found on the engravings with the mark “sculp” (that is, “sculpsit” - cut out; only on the engravings of Liezen-Meyer there is a mark “del” with the artist’s surname: from “delineavit” - painted) Grecht engraved about eighty-five percent drawings in the book. The artist of the drawings in the text remained unknown to me until the end: there are no signatures on them, and on the title page it is said only about engravings by A. Liezen-Meyer. So the drawings are either Liezen-Meyer or some other unknown artist; perhaps the engravings were taken from some other edition of Faust - it was reprinted quite often in the second half of the 19th century. I settled on the opinion that after all these are Litzen-Meyer's illustrations. The drawings are very thin, detailed, perfectly convey the dynamics and tension of the scenes, mostly in saturated gray-black (a lot of gray). Illustrations, even the smallest ones, are almost always closely tied to the text. By the way, the drawings in the text made a much greater impression on me than the engravings on cardboard. Around those engravings that are at the beginning of large sections and scenes (before the text), there are decorative frames, mostly of an ornamental or vegetative nature. These frames were engraved along with the drawings that they surround (they are made in the same style; the frame fits very organically into the drawing, even if it does not fit tightly to it) The frames fit the engravings thematically: for example, the engraving depicting a scene of peasant life a massive frame, on a dark background of which, just like in the illustration itself, peasants, forest animals, and peasant household items are depicted. The engraving for the scene in Auerbach's cellar is entwined with a frame of vines with ripe bunches. Now about the location of engravings in the publication. Litzen-Meier's engravings on cardboard are glued into the book so that the image is always on the right side of the page and the text on the left side of the page, sheets of rice paper are laid between these two pages. This rule is violated only once - at the very beginning of the book, the Liezen-Meyer engraving plays the role of a frontispiece, so the image is located on the left, and the title page on the right. Images on engravings printed on cardboard are always on one side of the cardboard sheet (the other side remains blank). The engraving-frontispiece depicts a girl in medieval clothes, sitting in thought on a spinning wheel. At her feet is a cat. On the wall is a crucifix. Apparently, this girl is Margarita, and the engraving illustrates one of the scenes of the work. The frontispiece here plays the role of a pictorial introduction to the text. The location of the engravings in the text is rather difficult to classify due to their abundance. But I can definitely say that every scene, every section of the book begins and ends with an engraving-illustration. The engravings at the beginning of the scenes are always large, sometimes with plots or ornamental frames framing them. The ending engravings are usually smaller and lighter, like the engravings at the beginning of the scenes, they are closely tied to the text. One of these ending engravings, depicting a devil sitting on a wheel, is placed not only in the text, but also on the title page before the information about the publisher. There are illustrations that take up a lot of space, regardless of their location in the text and the size of the illustration on the next page. They can take up the entire page or most of it (mostly dark engravings depicting critical, often tense moments of action). Small illustrations on one page can be separated by two or three quatrains. At the end of a large section, opposite the next section's title to the right (if there is no text on this page), there may be one small illustration in the center of the inline rectangular box. A special group is made up of engravings on semititles. These are strip illustrations of an allegorical nature, within which, within the frames or on unfolded scrolls, the title of one or another section of the book is printed in red. I got the impression that these are polytypes, made in the technique of end woodcuts, and printed in two colors (red and black) letterpress.

Johann Wolfgang Goethe is a German writer, playwright and poet who entered the history of world literature. The works of this author are immortal and are of a philosophical nature. The creator of the famous "Faust" was a kind and mysterious person, versed in the sciences and advocacy.

The German genius of classical literature was born on August 28, 1749 in Germany, in the prosperous trading city of Frankfurt am Main. The talented boy spent his childhood in a quiet and comfortable house near the Oleniy ravine, which in the future will become the Johann Wolfgang Goethe Museum.

The writer's parents had a noble position: Kaspar Goethe was a lawyer and imperial adviser, and Katarina Elisabeth Goethe was the daughter of the supreme city judge Johann Wolfgang Textor. It is worth saying that Kaspar's wife is 21 years younger than him, the girl was married to a lawyer at a young age, and initially she did not have love feelings for him.

Caspar Goethe lived in prosperity and did not deny himself or his family anything, thanks to the inheritance received from Friedrich Georg, who was his father. The writer's grandfather earned a huge fortune on his own, going from a tailor to an owner of a tavern. Johann's father was an intelligent man with a strong disposition, but with a limited outlook and a strict character.

The head of the family did not work, as the money received was enough for a lifetime. Instead of painstaking work, Kaspar traveled a lot, he especially liked Italy and the culture of Rome. He also collected a home library, which the young future author of Faust diligently studied. About two thousand books accumulated on Friedrich's bookshelves - a whole literary fortune.

At the age of six, little Johann begins to take an interest in the religious question. After the earthquake in Lisbon, the boy wonders if there is a God. If he exists, then why did he take away innocent virtuous people who died during a natural disaster? Johann had a sister, Cornelia, with whom his brother maintained warm relations. In addition to a boy and a girl, Katarina gave birth to four more children, but they died in infancy.

The writer's mother is the exact opposite of her husband: Katarina was a cheerful and smiling woman who tried to look at all aspects of life from an optimistic side. Because of the provocative nature of Katharina, little Johann loved her more than his father, but the boy also developed a friendship with Friedrich, despite frequent quarrels and the quick-tempered nature of Goethe the Elder.

Katarina did not receive a secondary education, which was not uncommon for women in these times, but the Goethe family's hearth keeper also loved to read and was fond of theater. Little Johann was very fond of fairy tales that his mother read to him at night: Katharina herself composed them. True, the woman acted cunningly: the future writer told her grandmother about her experiences, and she, in turn, passed on the “secret” of the grandson of his mother. Thus, Katarina understood what to tell her son in the next story.

The future German literary figure Johann Goethe grew up in a cozy environment full of love and understanding. Although the boy's parents were wealthy, Goethe was not a spoiled child and from an early age became addicted to literature, got acquainted with the Metamorphoses and the Iliad. When the boy was 4 years old, he received a luxurious gift from his grandmother - a small dollhouse. Little Goethe loved to play with a toy theater and came up with miniature scenes. Johann begins writing poetry at the age of ten. Since then, the future great writer calls himself a poet.

From 1756 to 1758, the young Goethe went to high school, and then transferred to home schooling. Friedrich did not spare money for the education of his children, so only the best private teachers worked with Johann and Cornelia. The boy studied foreign languages, natural sciences and was fond of drawing. In addition, home schooling included equestrianism, fencing, dancing, as well as playing the piano and cello.

French, Greek, English, Latin, etc. help the young Goethe write a novel in verse about brothers and sisters who send letters to each other in different languages. The boy writes his first work out of boredom, as he is tired of doing homework.

In the autumn of 1765, Goethe entered the University of Leipzig, which is considered one of the best in Germany. Friedrich wanted his son to follow in his footsteps, so he sent the teenager to the Faculty of Law. However, Johann is reluctant to attend classes in law, preferring philosophy, natural science and literature. Goethe liked to listen to the lectures of the German poet and philosopher Christian Gellert, and also in his student years at drawing lessons he met Johann Winckelmann, whom he considers his mentor.

While in "Little Paris", Goethe lived on Neumarkt Street, in a house called "Fireball". Young Goethe was a sociable student, in his environment there were many classmates with whom the future writer arranged friendly meetings, and also visited the theater, played the piano and played cards. Johann Goethe was dressed "to the point". But initially the student arrived in the city in the "simple outfit of a provincial" and caused ridicule.

Caring Friedrich, who did not spare money for Johann's entertainment and clothes, sent 100 guilders to the student every month, which was a good fortune in those days.

Despite his intelligence and diligence in his studies, Goethe fails to graduate from high school. Due to the exacerbation of tuberculosis in the summer of 1768, the young man had to return to his native city. Due to the fact that Johann returned to Frankfurt without a diploma, disagreements begin between father and son.

Literature

After his arrival from Leipzig, Goethe fell ill for a long time and stayed at home. While on sick leave, the young man writes his first work - the comedy Die Mitschuldigen ("Partners")

In 1770, Goethe, hoping to get a law degree, went to the city of Strasbourg: in a new place, the future writer began to be interested in chemistry, medicine, and also philology. There he meets the German writer and theologian Johann Herder, who had a positive influence on the young man.

In the new city, the young Goethe forms himself as a poet and belongs to the Sturm und Drang movement. This is practically the same as sentimentalism in Europe: the classical figures of reason are being replaced by admirers of emotional feelings.

In Strasbourg, Goethe falls in love with Friederike Brion, and the young poet dedicates lyrical poems to her: “The Steppe Rose”, “May Song”, etc. After a while, Goethe writes to Brion that his feelings for the girl have cooled.

In 1773, Goethe wrote a play about a Swabian knight, Goetz von Berlichingen with an Iron Hand, which brought popularity to the young writer on the Sturm und Drang manifesto.

In 1772, at the insistence of his father, Goethe went to Wetzlar to practice as a lawyer. In an old town, a young man falls passionately in love with Charlotte Buff after meeting her at a dance party. The poet was captivated by the beauty of a charming girl. After spending the evening surrounded by Goethe, Charlotte does not reciprocate the young Johann, which causes the writer to become depressed.

But it is worth paying tribute to this fleeting meeting, because thanks to it, in 1774, Goethe gave birth to the brilliant work The Suffering of Young Werther, where Charlotte was the prototype of Lotta. The novel in letters tells about a young man who fell in love unrequitedly and committed suicide. Such a plot denouement was inspired by Goethe by his friend Karl Wilhelm Jeruzalem, who in 1772 shot himself in his apartment because of feelings for a married woman.

The novel about Werther's unrequited love gained popularity and brought fame to Goethe, but a war of suicides on the basis of unrequited love took place in Germany: young Germans took Goethe's work too close to their hearts. Therefore, in some cities, the book of Johann was even banned.

"Faust"

On the bookshelves of the Goethe family library was a book about Johann Georg Faust. This man, who lived in the 15th and 16th centuries, was a mysterious person who was interested in many poets of subsequent times. And, of course, interest in the mystical warlock did not bypass Goethe, who loved to study occult science and alchemy.

Over the poem "Faust" Johann Goethe worked most of his life since the age of 20. This work is ingenious in structure and content, and also reflects the literary views of the poet, which have changed over the years of writing.

For the first time, an excerpt from Faust was published in 1808, and a whole book, consisting of fragments, was published in 1832.

Goethe's tragedy has been translated into many languages ​​of the world and is still considered a heritage of culture. Translation into Russian was carried out by Anatoly Mamontov, Alexander Strugovshchikov and others. But the most famous Russification of the work belongs to.

The quotation of the evil spirit from the poem is an epigraph to the novel The Master and Margarita:

“I am part of that force that always wants evil and always does good,” said Mephistopheles, whom the Russian writer makes the prototype of Woland in his book.

Another popular mystical work by Johann Goethe is the ballad The King of the Forest, written in 1782. The plot tells of a supernatural being who killed a child: Goethe draws an analogy with the boy's illness. Was the hero of the "Forest King" delirious, or did he meet with an evil king?

This ballad has become a recognizable work of Goethe, it can easily be attributed to the folk epic. Also, poems in the future are reflected in literature and music: he writes the novel "Pale Fire", and the German band Rammstein performs the song "Dalai Lama".

Personal life

Goethe was a charming and kind person who managed to master any knowledge. Due to his interest in art and literature, Goethe developed character from childhood by reading the immortal classics.

Despite his sociability, Johann Wolfgang was known as a mysterious person, some historians believe that part of the character of Heinrich Faust from Goethe's work was inherent in the author of the poem.

Even in the photographic portraits of Johann Goethe, a certain mysticism can be traced, his brown eyes seem to keep some secret, which he himself knew.

Goethe was popular with women, and there is not enough book to describe the love affairs of the German classic. And only Christiane Vulpius made the poet fall in love with herself for thirty whole years.

Christiane was not a beauty, like the first love of the writer Charlotte, but she captivated Goethe with her simplicity and sincerity. They met by chance on the street, the girl gave the future chosen one a letter. The poor peasant woman charmed Johann Wolfgang so much that he immediately invited the young girl to settle in his estate. Most of the poet's mistresses considered it an insult to the choice of the writer, who preferred the "simple". Goethe and Christina had five children, although the German classic has children from other women.

In his spare time, Goethe cultivated violets and collected minerals.

Death

In the spring of 1832, Goethe caught a cold while walking in an open carriage, and the disease dramatically worsened the health of the 82-year-old writer. On March 22, the great poet died due to cardiac arrest. The last words of the author of Faust:

"Please close the window."

Quotes

• "Humanity could achieve incredible success if it were more sober"
• “Faith is a rainbow bridge between heaven and earth, to the delight of everyone, but of the wanderers, each one sees it differently, depending on the place where he is”
• "Whoever does not believe in a future life is dead to this one too..."
• “God is everything if we stand high; if we stand low, he is the complement of our wretchedness"
• “A fool who has fallen in love is much more stupid: / And he will give the sun, and the moon, and the stars / For fireworks - for beauty to have fun!”

Bibliography

• "The Suffering of Young Werther" (1774);
• "Iphigenia in Tauris" (1787);
• "Roman Elegies" (1788);
• "Torquato Tasso" (1790);
• "Metamorphosis of Plants" (1790);
• "The Years of the Teaching of Wilhelm Meister" (1796);
• "Faust" (1808-1831);
• "Marienbad Elegy";
• "Magical flute";
• "Teaching about color";
• "Materials for the history of the doctrine of color";
• "West-Eastern Divan" (1819);

Picture 2 from the presentation "Johann Wolfgang Goethe" to literature lessons on the topic "G"

Dimensions: 349 x 426 pixels, format: jpg. To download a picture for a literature lesson for free, right-click on the image and click "Save Image As ...". To show pictures in the lesson, you can also download the presentation "Johann Wolfgang Goethe.ppt" for free in its entirety with all the pictures in a zip archive. Archive size - 857 KB.

G

"Children of Captain Grant" - 2. 4. For 40 years, Jules Verne created over 60 novels on 18,000 pages. 3. Half-starved existence. All the dreams that were so far away have come true. Maintaining a file of scientific discoveries. “I have no doubts about my future. "Extraordinary Journeys" by Jules Verne. 7.

"Honoré de Balzac" - The results of life ... Born on May 8 (20), 1799 in Tours, and died on August 18, 1850. He came from a wealthy peasant family, served in the military supply department. Balzac was a very loving man. List of the most famous works. The natural son of the owner of a neighboring castle. Writer's days. Writer's charm.

"Lesson the Little Prince" - Defense of the presentation (maximum - 20 points): Fluency in the topic of the project, the ability to briefly and correctly state the essence of the work, monologue of speech, the use of scientific terminology. What does the little prince know? What was important in today's meeting? “Only the heart is vigilant. (lessons from the fairy tale by Antoine de Saint-Exupery "The Little Prince").

"Lesson Defoe Robinson Crusoe" - Literature lesson in grade 5 Daniel Defoe "Robinson Crusoe". Teacher of Russian language and literature Famina V.S.

"Johann Wolfgang Goethe" - Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Goethe died in Weimar on March 22, 1832. Upon his return to Weimar (1789), Goethe did not immediately switch to a "sedentary" way of life. In Strasbourg, Goethe met J. G. Herder (1744–1803), the leading critic and ideologist of the Sturm und Drang movement, overflowing with plans to create great and original literature in Germany.

"Goethe about love" - ​​Statesman. The wave is growing and rushing about. Painter and art historian. Love. Charlotte von Stein - A cycle of poems. Actor and director. Ulrike Sophie von Lezetzow. Project work. The valley is in bloom, the zenith is on fire! To join the extraordinary beauty of feelings sincere lyrics of I.V. Goethe. Why are we born?

In total there are 57 presentations in the topic

Was the famous German poet, cosmopolitan and statesman Johann Wolfgang von Goethe also an interested and educated physician? Definitely yes. Goethe had many talents and an incomprehensible number of interests. Everything that concerned life, human existence, and the development of the human spirit to the highest spheres was "his business."

“It’s not enough to know, you have to apply it. It's not enough just to want, you have to do it. “We should improve our abilities, not our features.”

goethe scientist

Even while studying at the University of Leipzig, Goethe was interested in medical and anatomical issues and attended lectures accordingly. His works in the natural sciences were recognized by his fellow contemporaries, who took them seriously. It was not only about theory, he sought to develop the forces of self-healing and find out how effective such mental protection is and whether it is also effective with the use of otherworldly experiences.

Goethe always wanted to know for sure. Since he was familiar with anatomy, he undertook empirical research in this area and discovered one previously unfamiliar bone - in the middle of the human face - between the jawbone (Sutura incisiva Goethei).

Practice instead of theory

He was engaged in the "science of the soul", the doctrine of nutrition, medicinal herbs, medicinal baths, banks and passionately debated with famous doctors about the relationship between health and disease. Or something more fundamental, like the positive side of illness. Since being a patient, in practice I got acquainted with the unpleasant sides of many theories. He is the pioneer of the confrontational therapy used today - this is how he cured himself of his fear of heights. He forced himself to climb the Strasbourg Cathedral and allowed himself to descend only after the fear was overcome. He had a clear goal: he wanted to travel the Alps.

Poetry, experience, truth

In his poetry, Goethe also expresses human suffering, which he himself experienced like no one else, he suffered from serious illnesses, and was often near death. He was especially interested in "melancholy" - a dying illness or the desire to die and the subsequent suicide, which were reflected in his famous novel "The Suffering of Young Werther" or in "Mignon".

Still, Goethe understood suffering as an exam or an opportunity to meet oneself, genuine, real. All human pain and failure was for him a process of maturation, a path to self-purification and the price of growth - to a higher spiritual nature.

Consequences of experience

In his pursuit of a healthy lifestyle, he abstained from pleasurable poisons like tobacco and coffee, he swam in cold water, danced enthusiastically, traveled and rode a horse. By this, he showed responsibility and awareness of the spiritual dimension while alive, and as before, he was often and seriously ill. Perhaps the reason was in the early excesses - in one Frankfurt fable it is suggested that a kind of "German ditties" in which the enjoyment of life and wine is glorified could have been written by Goethe. However, despite his early heart attack, lung disease, melancholy and rheumatism, he lived for 82 years.

Until August 23, 2009, the Goethe Museum Düsseldorf in the Jagerhof Palace in Germany hosts an exhibition with original testimonies

Information in German about the exhibition can be viewed at: www.goethe-museum-kippenberg-stiftung.de