Johann Gottfried Schadow’s Princess group has gone down in the annals of art history. As the first statue of two female historical personalities it testifies to the innovation, enormous artistry and productivity of sculpture workshops in the 19th century – a symbol of the important sculpture of German Classicism.

In around 1800 Johann Gottfried Schadow (1764–1850) was the most famous artist in Prussia. More than most others he knew how to combine the outstanding position as court sculptor with entrepreneurial success and a steady bourgeois existence, and thereby to cultivate an international network. The artist himself modelled, drew, wrote art-theoretical treatises and was the head of the Berlin Academy, one of the most important art schools of the time. The monograph opens new perspectives onto the brilliant creativity of the great sculptor and his workshop.