When Goethe Arrived on Lake Garda: Goethe in the Footsteps of Winckelmann

In 1765, at the age of sixteen, Goethe followed his father’s wishes and studied Law in Leipzig, Saxony. In truth, he would have preferred to study Classical Literature in Göttingen. To distract himself from his studies, he read widely, visited the theater, and spent time with artists and writers. He met the painter and sculptor Adam Friedrich Oeser (1717–1799), who not only gave him drawing lessons but frequently spoke of the art historian and archaeologist Johann Joachim Winckelmann, a scholar of ancient art and literature. Oeser knew that Winckelmann (1717–1768), the founder of modern archaeology, had defended the “ideal of a superior humanity, harmoniously unified in mind and body” through his observations of Greek and Roman sculptures.

“Noble simplicity and quiet grandeur” were the key concepts of Winckelmann’s thought, which inspired all who wished to learn about human history. According to Winckelmann, the model of classical beauty involved both the body and the soul, the spirit, and the senses. Winckelmann thus promoted the image of a terrestrial man: perfect, beautiful, strong, passionate, and cultured.

Goethe Winckelmann 1805
Cover of the 1805 edition of Goethe’s essay “Winckelmann and His Century”

To reach this conception, Winckelmann had pursued a long educational path with sudden shifts from theology to medicine and, finally, to art history. From a young age, he was fascinated by Greek culture, learning from philosopher A. G. Baumgarten (1714–1762) that art did not necessarily have to serve a moral or religious purpose. At 37, Winckelmann became the librarian for Count Heinrich von Bünau, custodian of over 40,000 books. This stimulating environment, combined with his reading in history, philosophy, and Greek art, prepared him for his journey to Italy.

Instead of staying in Rome for a few months, he remained for thirteen years. During this time, he met key figures, including the classical painter Anton Raphael Mengs (1728–1779) and Cardinal Alessandro Albani (1692–1779), who put him in charge of his library and antiquities collection. Winckelmann traveled to Naples, Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Paestum. He wrote art treatises, promoting a neoclassical taste based on simplicity. His work History of Ancient Art (1764) became highly influential.

At 47, he was appointed prefect of antiquities in Rome. Four years later, he traveled to Germany and Vienna, where Empress Maria Theresa received him with honors. On his return to Italy, he stopped in Trieste. On the morning of June 8, 1768, he was murdered in his hotel room, likely by a thief, and buried near the Cathedral of San Giusto.

The news of Winckelmann’s murder deeply affected the nineteen-year-old Goethe, who had recently visited the art collections in Dresden and, the following year, the Antikensaal in Mannheim, which held a collection of plaster casts of ancient sculptures.

Goethe’s interest in classical art is shown by his frequent visits to antiquity museums. From Weimar, where he settled in 1776 after accepting posts from Duke Carl August, he traveled to Switzerland with the Duke, stopping in Kassel to see the collection of ancient sculptures.

Ten years later, on September 3, 1786, Goethe left for Italy. He stopped in Munich to visit the painting gallery, where he admired sketches by Rubens, a model of Trajan’s Column, and Roman imperial busts in the Antiquarium.

In his Italian Journey, he began his notes on Verona by writing: “The Amphitheater [the Arena] is the first important monument of antiquity that I see; and how well preserved it is!” Everything in Italy thrilled Goethe, and classical antiquities held a special place. In Padua, he bought a copy of Andrea Palladio’s The Four Books of Architecture, and in Venice, he bought Vitruvio’s treatise on architecture. In Venice, he admired the horses of St. Mark’s and the marble lions in front of the Arsenal, while at Ca’ Farsetti, he saw a collection of casts of ancient art. He recalled having seen copies of classical art in Mannheim, but here he contemplated a “colossal Cleopatra sleeping with the asp on her arm, passing from sleep to death,” Niobe protecting her daughter, gladiators, a sleeping genius, and figures of philosophers. He noted that “many noble busts transported me back to those wonderful ancient times.”

Arriving in Rome on November 1st, 1786, Goethe wrote that he had long desired to visit the city, driven by an “irresistible need,” almost “an illness.” His thirst to see this country had matured so deeply that he knew he would carry back treasures “to serve as a guide and inspiration for myself and others for the rest of our lives.”

In Rome, Goethe met German and Swiss artists, including archaeologist J. F. Reiffenstein, a friend of Winckelmann. Rome offered him its imperial monuments. He read Winckelmann’s History of Ancient Art and letters, and deepened his drawing skills.

After returning to Weimar, Goethe’s administrative duties decreased. He made shorter trips and worked intensely on his writings. In 1805, about seven years after visiting Lake Garda, Goethe published the essay Winckelmann and His Century, expressing his admiration for the archaeologist as a pioneer of art history. Goethe noted that Winckelmann had promoted a return to classical art and beauty, which both recognized in nature as well.

Pia Dusi

Read more from GN Magazine – July 2026

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