Rudolph Schadow (also spelled Ridolfo Schadow; July 9, 1786 – January 31, 1822) was a German

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

Born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, he had his father,

Johann Gottfried Schadow Johann Gottfried Schadow (20 May 1764 – 27 January 1850) was a German Prussian sculptor. His most iconic work is the chariot on top of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Biography Schadow was born in Berlin, where his father was a poor tailor. ...

, at

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, for his first master. In 1810 he went to

and received kindly help from Canova and

Thorvaldsen Thorvaldsen is a surname. People with the name include: * Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), Danish/Icelandic sculptor * Randi Thorvaldsen (1925–2011), Norwegian speedskater * Thor Thorvaldsen (1909–1987), Norwegian Olympic sailor * Unn Thorval ...

. His talents were versatile; his first independent work was a figure of Paris, and it had for its companion a spinning girl. The latter, a portrayal of a young girl spinning, proved to be extremely popular among visitors to Rome, and even admirers of the work of Canova and Thorvaldensen acknowledged its worth. Schadow made several other versions of the work, the first probably between 1814 and 1816. The King of Prussia, Prince Esterhazy and the Duke of Devonshire all expressed a wish to include this statue in their collections. One version completed in 1820 is on display in the Hermitage, which acquired it from the Znamenka Palace, near St. Petersburg, in 1930. Embracing the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith, he produced statues of

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

and of the ''Virgin and Child''. In England he became known by

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

s executed for the

Duke of Devonshire Duke of Devonshire is a title in the Peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This (now the senior) branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the wealthiest British aristocratic families since the 16th century and has b ...

and for the Marquess of Lansdowne. His last composition, commissioned by the

king of Prussia The monarchs of Prussia were members of the House of Hohenzollern who were the hereditary rulers of the former German state of Prussia from its founding in 1525 as the Duchy of Prussia. The Duchy had evolved out of the Teutonic Order, a Roman C ...

, was a colossal group, ''

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

with the Body of

Penthesilea Penthesilea () was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she was killed by Achilles or Neoptolemus. The ...

''; the model, universally admired for its antique character and the largeness of its style, had not been carried out in marble when in 1822 the artist died in Rome.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schadow, Rudolph 1786 births 1822 deaths Sculptors from the Kingdom of Prussia German sculptors German male sculptors Expatriates in the Papal States