Johann Kaspar Lavater
Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801) was a Swiss poet, theologian, philosopher, and physiognomist, known for his belief that one could infer character traits from facial features and body forms. Born in Zurich, Lavater studied at the Collegium Carolinum and later took Holy Orders, becoming a deacon in various churches throughout the city. His most notable contribution to literature is the book "Physiognomische Fragmente," published between 1775 and 1778, which gained recognition in Germany, France, and England. Lavater also engaged in significant controversies, including a failed attempt to convert the prominent Jewish philosopher Moses Mendelssohn to Christianity. His literary works included poetry and mystical writings, and he formed notable connections with figures such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, although their relationship eventually soured. As Lavater aged, his influence waned, and he faced ridicule for his fervent beliefs. His life ended tragically during the French occupation of Switzerland when he was wounded in a conflict and died more than a year later.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Johann Kaspar Lavater
Poet
- Born: November 15, 1741
- Birthplace: Zurich, Switzerland
- Died: January 2, 1801
- Place of death: Zurich, Switzerland
Biography
Johann Kaspar Lavater, born Nov. 15, 1741, in Zurich, Switzerland, was a poet and physiognomist, one who deduces character traits from facial features or the form of the body. He became a theologian, philosopher, and writer. His father was a physician. He spent most of his life in Zurich, and studied from 1756 to 1762 at the Collegium Carolinum in Zurich. Shortly after reaching the age of twenty-one, he reached the public eye by denouncing, along with a friend who was a painter, a magistrate who had used his position to squeeze money out of people and who was forced to make restitution.
Lavater took Holy Orders in 1769. From then until his death on January 2, 1801, he served as a deacon or pastor in various churches in Zurich. He became known as an orator and an author of mystical writings, traveling widely in Germany. Initially, he became a deacon in Zurich, and had his most productive literary period during this time of his life. It is mainly because of his book on physiognomy that he is remembered today. The book, Physiognomische Fragmente, zur Beförderung der Menschenkenntnis und Menschenliebe, was compiled between 1775 and 1778. The work found admirers in France and England as well as in Germany.
It was also in 1769 that Lavater attempted to convert Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786), a Jewish philosopher who became a leading figure of the Enlightenment in Prussia, to Christianity. (Moses Mendelssohn was the grandfather of the famous composer Felix Mendelssohn.) Lavater sent Mendelssohn a translation of Charles Bonnet’s Palingenesie philosophique and demanded that Mendelssohn either publicly refute Bonnet’s arguments or convert. Mendelssohn did neither, and the controversy ended up more as an embarrassment to Lavater.
Lavater’s poetry included publication of Hundert christliche Lieder (1776) and two epic poems, Jesus Messias (1780) and Joseph von Arimathia (1794). He also published the introspective Aussichten in die Ewigkeit in four volumes from 1768 to 1778, Geheimes Tagebuch von einem Beobachter seine selbst in two volumes from 1771 to 1773, and Pontius Pilatus: Oder, Der Mensch in allen Gestalten in four volumes from 1782 to 1785.
Lavater made the acquaintance in 1774 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), a German poet, novelist, and playwright who would become one of the giants of world literature. Eventually they had a falling out, with Goethe accusing Lavater of superstition and hypocrisy in his approach to historical Christianity.
Lavater published a collection of his writing in two volumes, Vermischte Schriften, in 1774 and 1781, and another in three volumes, Kleinere prosaische Schriften, from 1784 to 1785. His five volumes of Nachgelassene Schriften were published during 1801 and 1802; six volumes of poems, Sämmtliche Werke, from 1836 to 1838; and another collection in eight volumes, Ausgewählte Schriften, from 1841 to 1844.
Lavater’s influence lessened during the later years of his life. He was also ridiculed for his zealotry and obvious vanity. He was killed during the French occupation of Switzerland, when he attempted to appease the occupiers of Zurich, he was shot and wounded by a grenadier. He lingered for more than a year before he died.