Johann August Nahl

Monument toFrederic IIin Kassel, later completed by Nahl's son

Johann August Nahl(22 August 1710 inBerlin– 22 October 1781 inKassel) was a Germansculptorandplasterer.

He was first taught by his father Johann Samuel Nahl (1664–1727), who had been court sculptor ofFrederic Isince 1704. At the age of 18, Nahl undertook a journey viaSigmaringenandBerntoStrasbourg,where he worked forRobert Le Lorrain.In 1731 he went toParis,then in 1734 toRome,1735 toSchaffhausenand then back toStrasbourg.Here he initially worked for the French royal steward François Klinglin and then later on thebishop's palace of Armand-Gaston de Rohan-Soubise.In 1736 he earned citizenship in Strasbourg.

Nahl is the author of the brass made in honour of Maria Magdalena Langhans, a clergyman's wife who died giving birth, in the church Hindelbank in theBerCanton- this brass was one of the most admired in the 18th century. Regarding this,Johann Wolfgang Goethewrote the following toCharlotte von Steinon 20 October 1779:

"In order to hear about the tomb of the clergymen in the Hindelback you will have to have patience, for I have much to tell on, about and for it. It is a subject about which one could read many a long chapter. I wish I were able to write everything down right now. I have heard so much about it and consumed it, so to speak. People readily speak with firm enthusiasm about such things, and nobody looks at what the artist has done, or indeed wanted to do."

Personal life

His great-grandsons were the half-brothersCharles Christian NahlandHugo Wilhelm Arthur Nahl,painters of theAmerican Old West.

External links

• (in German)Thomas Weidner:Die Grabmonumente von Johann August Nahl in Hindelbank,Berner Journal für Geschichte und Heimatkunde 1995
  • Article written in the Bern journal for local and general history on the monuments made by Nahl in the Hindelbank.
• The Tomb of Madame Langhans., an image of the tomb together withFelicia Hemans's poem on the subject.

References

Much of the content of this article comes fromthe German language Wikipedia article(retrieved February 25, 2006).