Carl Johann Conrad Michael Matthaei

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Carl Johann Conrad Michael Matthaei (* 1744 in Nuremberg ; † 19 July 1830 in Neustrelitz ) was an esthete , for many years the court master of Maria Antonia von Branconi and educator of her son Carl Anton Ferdinand von Forstenburg . He was a close confidante of Johann Caspar Lavater and maintained contact with many creative greats of his time, including Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Friedrich Schiller and Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim .

Life

Matthaei was born as Samson Geithel in 1744. His father, the Jew Simon Geithel, had himself and his son baptized on September 21, 1748 with the surname Matthaei, the latter being given the first name Johann Konrad Michael Matthaei. On February 18, 1762, he enrolled at the university in Altdorf , then later, on April 24, 1765, also in Leipzig and on October 18, 1765 in Halle . During his studies, which he finished in 1768, Matthei made contacts with Christian Fürchtegott Gellert and Christian Felix Weisse . In 1768 Matthei first worked in a Zittau merchant's house and at the end of the year with Freifrau v. Friesen to the position of the court master. During that year he met Karl Friedrich Kretschmann , Rudolf Erich Raspe and most recently Christian Ludwig von Hagedorn . During the next few years his stay in various German cities is guaranteed, including Braunschweig , Wittenberg and Weimar . Finally, on June 23, 1777, Matthaei was entrusted with the education of 9-year-old Count Carl Anton Ferdinand von Forstenburg, son of Maria Antonia von Branconi. This task and the resulting close ties to Branconi's house determined a large part of his subsequent life.

In May 1778 Matthaei traveled with the Count to Strasbourg , where he was enrolled at the university at the age of just 10. In May of the following year, the family moved to Lausanne , where Matthaei met the pastor and philosopher Johann Caspar Lavater, with whom he was always close friends. Another year later, in 1780, the family went back to Strasbourg, where Alessandro Cagliostro was working at the time. It was there that Matthaei also met Jakob Sarasin , with whom he attended a meeting of the Helvetic Society in 1781 .

family

It is known about Matthaei's parents that his father, a Jew named Simon Geithel, had himself and his son baptized under the Christian name of Matthaei. Nothing is known of a marriage or biological children of Matthaeis, but his mistress von Branconi assigned him the guardianship of their youngest son Julius Adolf Marie.

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Johann Georg Meusel, Lexicon of German writers who died between 1750 and 1800, page 360. Digitized from Google Books , accessed on February 7, 2019
personal data
SURNAME Matthaei, Carl Johann Conrad Michael
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Matthaei, Karl Johann Conrad Michael; Geithel, Samson
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Aesthetist and court master of Maria Antonia von Branconi
DATE OF BIRTH 1744
PLACE OF BIRTH Nuremberg
DATE OF DEATH July 19, 1830
Place of death Neustrelitz