In 1769, Goethe discovered “an irresistible mass” of plaster casts in Mannheim’s Hall of Antiquities – “a forest of statues through which one had to twist and turn, a great ideal of people community through which one had to push one’s way.” These included the Apollo Belvedere and the Laokoon. He was especially impressed by the composition and expression of the figures, which visibly conveyed their actions and internal emotions so that one could continue them in the imagination.

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The materiality of sculptures was secondary to Goethe, as he stated in Wahlverwandtschaften (1809): “but the most beautiful monument to humans always remains their own image.” For him, creating a monument to a person meant overcoming their mortality and establishing a norm-setting example. Goethe was influenced by the use of ancient sculpture: figures, busts, medals, and coins were present everywhere in public life at that time and had an enormous cultural impact.

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In Gehorsamste Promemoria (1804), Goethe criticized the functionally useless forms ordered by collectors. Instead, he praised the medallion as a enduring, replicable medium for memory:

“Furthermore, a medallion, created by a skilful artist after a bust or after life, is a wonderful memorial that can be owned by several friends and will be transmitted to future generations.”