Rise to Success
The years after 1860 mark Begas’ ascent to the leading German sculptor of his generation. Apart from a brief teaching post in Weimar in 1861/62 and two long trips to Italy in 1864 and 1869/70, the centre of his artistic work and private life always remained Berlin. In 1864 he married Margarethe Philipp, then only 15 years of age, and had a studio installed in the Tiergarten district of the city. In 1871 they moved into a new villa built on the studio grounds. They led a happy marriage and had three children: sons Werner and Gottfried, called Freddy, and daughter Molly. Werner later took over his father’s studio and became a sculptor. An energetic sports enthusiast until very late in life, Reinhold Begas remained a highly respected figure in Berlin society until his death. In 1898, the year after the unveiling of the Kaiser Wilhelm National Monument, contemporaries reported that he was considered the most famous German.
