Johann Caspar Lavater

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Johann Caspar Lavater, painting by Alexander Speisegger, 1785, Gleimhaus Halberstadt.
Lavater's signature:
Signature Johann Caspar Lavater.PNG

Johann Caspar Lavater , also Johann Kaspar Lavater (born November 15, 1741 in Zurich ; † January 2, 1801 ibid), was a Reformed pastor , philosopher and writer from Switzerland during the Enlightenment and a main representative of physiognomics .

Life

Lavater's silhouette
Lavater's gravestone in front of the Saint Peter church in Zurich

Lavater was born in 1741, the son of a respected doctor, in his parents' house at Spiegelgasse 11 ( Lage ) in Zurich. He first attended the German School, then the Latin School, from 1754 to study theology at the Collegium Humanitatis and from 1756 to 1762 the Collegium Carolinum in Zurich, where a. a. Johann Jacob Bodmer and Johann Jakob Breitinger were his teachers. He was ordained in 1762. In the same year he and the later painter Johann Heinrich Füssli drew attention to the unjust activities of the former bailiff Felix Grebel with a font.

In 1763 Lavater went on an educational trip to northern Germany with his friend Johann Heinrich Füssli, in order to continue training for the ministry with the enlightened reform theologian Johann Joachim Spalding in Barth in Swedish Pomerania . On the journey there via Berlin he became acquainted with many important men of his time (including Christian Fürchtegott Gellert , Moses Mendelssohn , Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock ). In Barth, where he spent eight months, he began his writing career initially with critical work.

After his return to Zurich (1764) Lavater founded various companies and published the first important texts. On May 21, 1768 his son, who later became a doctor, Johann Heinrich Lavater, was born. In 1769 Johann Caspar Lavater became a deacon, in 1775 a pastor at the orphanage church, in 1778 a deacon and in 1786 a pastor at the St. Peters Church in Zurich. Lavater had two daughters, born around 1770 and 1778.

In 1769 Lavater translated Charles Bonnet's Idées sur l'état futur des êtres vivants, ou Palingénésie philosophique as a philosophical investigation of the evidence for Christianity and dedicated this work to the enlightener Moses Mendelssohn in order to induce him either to refute or convert to Christianity. This was the beginning of a correspondence between Mendelssohn and Lavater, which was followed by the learned public all over Europe. Lavater received support in this dispute from the lawyer and theologian Johann Balthasar Kölbele .

In 1774 he got to know Johann Wolfgang von Goethe , Johann Bernhard Basedow and Johann Gerhard Hasenkamp , among others, on a journey through the Rhine, which largely took place on a Lauertanne . Goethe wrote a little verse about a meal with Lavater and Basedow, which became a catchphrase: " Prophet on the right, prophet on the left, the world child in the middle ". He was accompanied by the draftsman and copper engraver Georg Friedrich Schmoll from Ludwigsburg , who after his return engraved many of the portraits made on the trip for the physiognomic fragments in copper.

After Lavater was called to the St. Ansgarius Church in Bremen as a preacher , he made a trip there in 1786. Although he had turned the job down and continued to work as a pastor in Zurich, he was received with enthusiasm on the trip and in Bremen. In 1787 he began correspondence with Nikolay Karamzin , who described his visit to him in the book Letters of a Russian Traveler . At the invitation of Minister Bernstorff , he made a trip to Copenhagen in 1793 .

The last years of his life were largely determined by political events. Since Lavater was critical of the effects of the French Revolution and also strongly criticized the invasion of the French troops in Switzerland, he came under the suspicion of an agreement with Russia and Austria by the Swiss government. On May 16, 1799 he was arrested and taken to Basel .

He was released on June 10 and returned to Zurich. When he was helping the wounded soldiers on the street during the conquest of the city by André Masséna on September 26 of the same year, he was hit by an enemy bullet. 15 months later he died of the consequences of the injuries he suffered. His son-in-law Georg Gessner published a three-volume biography in the year following Lavater's death.

Work and meaning

Portraits by Daniel Chodowiecki for Lavater's Physiognomik Collection
Lavater had Goethe's silhouette printed in the first volume of Physiognomische Fragmente (1775) with the following comment: “The following silhouette is not perfect, but apart from the slightly cut mouth, it is the true outline of one of the greatest and richest geniuses I have in mine Seen life. "

Lavater became known for his Physiognomischen Fragments, zur Förder der Menschenknotung und Philanthropy (4 volumes, 1775–78), in which he gave instructions to recognize different characters based on facial features and body shapes. With this theory of physiognomics he made a major contribution to the popularity of the silhouette in the second half of the 18th century in Germany. Lavater's theory of physiognomics was lively discussed at the time, among others by Lichtenberg , Goethe and Humboldt . Well-known artists such as Daniel Chodowiecki , Johann Rudolph Schellenberg or Johann Heinrich Lips provided templates for his physiognomics collection .

In addition, Lavater wrote the Swiss songs (1767), the work Outlook in Eternity (1768–1773 / 78), which appeared in four volumes, and the Secret Diary. From an Observer of Himself and the Unchanged Fragments from the Diary of an Observer of His Self , various theological, educational and patriotic works as well as the Pontius Pilate (1782–1785) and the Nathanaél (1786). He was also known for his numerous published sermons and the various religiously influenced epic poems such as Jesus Messiah, or the future of the Lord (1780) and Joseph of Arimathea (1794) as well as the religious drama Abraham and Isaac (1776).

Honors, collection

A street and a school building in Zurich's Enge district are named after Lavater . In 1954, Lavaterstraße in Aspern in Vienna- Donaustadt (22nd district) was named after him.

The asteroid (19263) Lavater , discovered by Freimut Börngen in 1995 , was named after the philosopher.

At his place of work in Zurich, a collection on his life and work has been created in the Lavaterhaus in St. Peterhofstatt 6 ( Lage ) . There are guided tours and events on special occasions.

Works

  • 1762: The unjust governor or complaints of a patriot
  • 1767: Swiss songs. From a member of the Swiss Society in Schinznach
  • 1768–1778: Prospects for Eternity (4 volumes)
  • 1769: Drey questions about the gifts of the Holy Spirit
  • 1769: Johann Caspar Lavaters attribution of the Bonnetic Philosophical Investigation of the Evidence for Christianity to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn in Berlin
  • 1770: Answer to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn in Berlin
  • 1770: Morning and evening prayers every day of the week
  • 1771: Secret diary. From an observer of himself
  • 1772: From Physiognomics . Leipzig
  • 1773: Sermons on the book Jonas , Zurich, David Bürgkli published by Steiners und Compagnie, 2 parts, 254 and 287 pp.
  • 1773: Unchanged fragments from the diary of an observer of himself
  • 1775–1778: Physiognomic fragments, for the promotion of human knowledge and human love, digitized and full text in the German Text Archive, vol. 1, digitalized and full text in the German text archive, vol. 2
  • 1776: Abraham and Isaac
  • 1780: Jesus Messiah, or The Lord's Future
  • 1782–1785: Pontius Pilatus. Or the Bible on a small scale and Man on a large scale
  • 1785: Something historical about the so-called animal magnetism
  • 1786: Nathanael
  • 1787: songs for the suffering . Tübingen
  • 1787–1788: Mixed unphysiognomic rules for knowing people and oneself
  • 1788: Christian religious instruction for thinking youngsters
  • 1789: Mixed physiognomic rules, a manuscript for friends , published (above) in 1802
  • 1790–1794: Reference library for friends (24 volumes)
  • 1793: rules for children
  • 1793: Journey to Copenhagen in the summer of 1793
  • 1794: Joseph of Arimathea
  • 1795: Anacharsis or mixed thoughts and friendly advice
  • 1798: [A] word from a free Swiss to the great nation
  • 1798: The human heart
  • 1800–1801: Freymuethige letters about the deportation system and his own deportation to Basel

Work edition

Johann Caspar Lavater: Selected works in historical-critical edition. Verlag Neue Zürcher Zeitung, Zurich

  • Volume I / 1: Bettina Volz-Tobler (Ed.): Jugendschriften 1762–1769. 2008, ISBN 978-3-03823-059-5 .
  • Volume I / 2: Bettina Volz-Tobler (Ed.): The Reminder. 2009, ISBN 978-3-03823-536-1 .
  • Volume II: Ursula Caflisch-Schnetzler (Ed.): Prospects in Eternity 1768–1773 / 78. 2001, ISBN 3-85823-865-1 .
  • Volume III: Martin Ernst Hirzel (Ed.): Works 1769–1771. 2002, ISBN 3-85823-961-5 .
  • Volume IV: Ursula Caflisch-Schnetzler (Ed.): Works 1771–1773. 2009, ISBN 978-3-03823-537-8 .
  • Volume V: Ursula Caflisch-Schnetzler (Ed.): Works 1772–1781. 2018, ISBN 978-3-03810-371-4 .
  • Volume VI / 1: Christina Reuter (Ed.): Pontius Pilatus 1782–1785. 2013, ISBN 978-3-03823-760-0 .
  • Volume VIII: Dominik Sieber (Ed.): Patriotic Writings 1798–1801. 2015, ISBN 978-3-03823-686-3 .
  • Supplementary volume: Horst Weigelt (Ed.): Bibliography of Lavater's works. Directory of the publications that appeared in print during his lifetime. Scientific editor Niklaus Landolt, 2001, ISBN 3-85823-864-3 .
  • Supplementary volume: Christoph Eggenberger, Marlis Stähli (Ed.): Johann Caspar Lavater (1741–1801). Lists of correspondence and personal papers in the Zurich Central Library. 2007, ISBN 978-3-03823-354-1 .
  • Supplementary volume: Ursula Caflisch-Schnetzler, Conrad Ulrich (Ed.): Anna Barbara von Muralt (1727–1805) Andecdotes from Lavater's life. 2 volumes, 2011, ISBN 978-3-03823-687-0 .

literature

Web links

Commons : Johann Kaspar Lavater  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikisource: Johann Caspar Lavater  - Sources and full texts
Wikiquote: Johann Caspar Lavater  - Quotes

References and comments

  1. ↑ Tabular biography of Johann Caspar Lavater (1741–1801) ( Memento of the original from November 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.carl-huter.ch
  2. ^ Andreas Mettenleiter : Personal reports, memories, diaries and letters from German-speaking doctors. Supplements and supplements III (I – Z). In: Würzburg medical history reports. Volume 22, 2003, pp. 269-305, here: p. 276.
  3. ^ Johann Caspar Lavater: Johann Caspar Lavater's attribution of the Bonnetic Philosophical Investigation of the Evidence for Christianity to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn in Berlin. Zurich 1769.
  4. ^ Moses Mendelssohn: Letter to the deacon Lavater zu Zurüch. Berlin 1769.
  5. ^ Johann Caspar Lavater: Answer to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn in Berlin. Berlin and Szczecin 1770.
  6. ^ Johann Balthasar Kölbele: Letter to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn about Lavaterische and Kölbelische matters against Mr. Moses Mendelssohn. Andreä, Frankfurt am Mayn 1770.
  7. ↑ ders .: Second letter to Mr. Moses Mendelssohn in particular about the former Mendelssohn deism, about the Mendelssohn mark of a revelation, and recently about the credibility of the evangelical history. Andreä, Frankfurt am Mayn 1770.
  8. ↑ 1774, Laveter and Goethe
  9. ↑ Georg Geßner: Johann Kaspar Lavaters biography of his daughter husband. 3 volumes, Winterthur 1802/03.
  10. ↑ Judith Steinheider: Silhouette and silhouette as a design tool for book illustration. History and Bibliography. Tectum, Marburg 2013, ISBN 978-3-8288-3251-0 , p. 90.
  11. ^ Johann Caspar Lavater: Physiognomic fragments, for the promotion of human knowledge and human love. First try. Weidmanns Erben and Reich / Heinrich Steiner and Compagnie, Leipzig / Winterthur 1775, p. 223.
  12. ↑ Lavaterstraße geschichtewiki.wien.gv.at, accessed July 31, 2020, named December 15, 1954 by the municipal council committee for culture.
  13. ↑ Karl Bittel: The famous Mr. Doct. Mesmer. 1734-1815. In his footsteps on Lake Constance in Thurgau and in the margraviate of Baden with some new contributions to Mesmer research. Aug. Feyel, printing and publishing house, Überlingen 1939. p. 12.
personal data
SURNAME Lavater, Johann Caspar
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lavater, Johann Kaspar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss pastor, philosopher and writer
DATE OF BIRTH November 15, 1741
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH January 2, 1801
Place of death Zurich