Johann August Nahl
Illustration — Monument to Frederick II in Kassel, later completed by Nahl's son Johann August Nahl (22 August 1710 – 22 October 1781) was a German sculptor and plasterer. He was born in Berlin. He was first taught by his father, Johann Samuel Nahl (1664–1727), who had been court sculptor of Frederic I since 1704.
Also recorded as Johann August, le vieux Nahl · Johann August, der Ältere Nahl · Johann August, the elder Nahl · Johann August Nahl the Elder
Johann August Nahl

Jakob Emanuel Handmann · Gemäldegalerie Kassel · Public domain
- Born
- Johann August Nahl was born on 22 August 1710. · Berlin.
- Died
- Johann August Nahl died on 22 October 1781. · Kassel.
- Nationality
- Germany and Switzerland.
- Occupation
- sculptor, university teacher and designer.
- Fields
- art of sculpture.
- Known for
- tomb of Maria Magdalena Langhans.
- Languages
- German.
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Documentary summary
Illustration — Monument to Frederick II in Kassel, later completed by Nahl's son Johann August Nahl (22 August 1710 – 22 October 1781) was a German sculptor and plasterer. He was born in Berlin. He was first taught by his father, Johann Samuel Nahl (1664–1727), who had been court sculptor of Frederic I since 1704.
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Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q466047 · wikipedia · Johann August Nahl
In this article
Personal life
Personal life
At the age of 18, Nahl undertook a journey via Sigmaringen and Bern to Strasbourg, where he worked for Robert Le Lorrain. In 1731, he went to Paris, then in 1734, to Rome, 1735 to Schaffhausen and then back to Strasbourg. Here he initially worked for the French royal steward François Klinglin and then later on the bishop's palace of Armand-Gaston de Rohan-Soubise. In 1736, he earned citizenship in Strasbourg. Nahl is the author of the brass made in honour of Maria Magdalena Langhans, a clergyman's wife who died giving birth, in the church Hindelbank in the Ber Canton - this brass was one of the most admired in the 18th century. Regarding this, Johann Wolfgang Goethe wrote the following to Charlotte von Stein on 20 October 1779: In order to hear about the tomb of the clergymen in the Hindelbank you will have to have patience, for I have much to tell on, about and for it. It is a subject about which one could read many a long chapter. I wish I were able to write everything down right now. I have heard so much about it and consumed it, so to speak. People readily speak with firm enthusiasm about such things, and nobody looks at what the artist has done, or indeed wanted to do.
The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is art of sculpture. Employment is recorded with Collegium Carolinum. Works named in the authority record are tomb of Maria Magdalena Langhans. Work by Johann August Nahl is recorded in the collections of J. Paul Getty Museum and Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen.
His great-grandsons were the half-brothers Charles Christian Nahl and Hugo Wilhelm Arthur Nahl, painters of the American Old West.
Identity and origins
Identity and origins
His recorded language was German. He was the child of Johann Samuel Nahl.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
Explore 1710–1783
The full dated record · 5 entries
1710
Johann August Nahl was born on 22 August 1710.
1746
Neptuns Triumph is dated 1746.
1751
tomb of Maria Magdalena Langhans is dated 1751.
1781
Johann August Nahl died on 22 October 1781.
1783
Statue of Landgrave Friedrich II. is dated 1783.
Places
Named by the record
Places
Only places the record itself states, plotted where the house gazetteer settles their coordinates. Nothing is inferred from a name or a nationality.
Johann August Nahl was born at Berlin.
Birthplace
Johann August Nahl died at Kassel.
Deathplace
Berlin.
Birth place
Kassel.
Death place
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Wikidata, structured authority record Q466047: Johann August NahlWikimedia Foundation
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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