Johann Wolfgang von GOETHE (28 August 1749 - 22 March 1832) German writer; poet and playwright. Predominant figure of German literature; he is considered the symbol of Western literary civilization; the artistic result of the most important cultural movements between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Germany: pietism; "Sturm und Drang"; classicism and even Romanticism (to which however wanted to remain a stranger). Rich in multiple interests; alongside a very fruitful literary activity Goethe cultivated studies of natural sciences (anatomy; botany; mineralogy; optics) and exercised important duties of court advisor. Engraving by Thomas Wright (1792 - 1849) from a painting by George Dawe (1781 - 1829); UK 19th century