Primary sourcePainting1765
Portrait of Young Goethe by Anton Kern
Anton Johann Kern · 1765
An oil portrait of Goethe at age sixteen, painted in 1765 just before he left for university in Leipzig; the original was destroyed in 1943.
This portrait shows Goethe as a teenager, just before he left home to study at Leipzig.
About this source
What it is
This oil portrait was painted by Anton Johann Kern in 1765, showing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe as a sixteen-year-old, shortly before he left for Leipzig to begin his studies. The original painting was kept at the University of Leipzig until it was destroyed by fire in 1943.
Why it matters
This is one of the earliest known portraits of Goethe, made before he became famous as a writer. It shows how a wealthy young man of his time dressed and presented himself, and its loss during the Second World War is a reminder of how fragile historical artifacts can be.
Look closer
- What does Goethe's clothing and pose suggest about his family's social position?
- Why do you think books appear in the background of this portrait?
- What does the destruction of the original painting in 1943 tell us about preserving history?
This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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