Background
Todt was born in Berlin in 1810 or 1811, and studied sculpture under Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann from around 1830 until 1836.
Todt was born in Berlin in 1810 or 1811, and studied sculpture under Ludwig Wilhelm Wichmann from around 1830 until 1836.
In 1849 he emigrated to South Australia, possibly because of an involvement in the revolutions of the time. In 1851 he got caught up in the Victorian gold rush, but by 1854 had settled in Melbourne where he returned to sculpture. That year he exhibited what has become his most famous work.
This was The gold diggers, a sculpture depicting two gold diggers, one standing and one sitting, in their working clothes.
Described at the time as "nothing short of genius of a high order", it is now held by the National Gallery of Victoria, and has recently been described in the following terms:
Two years later, the work was published, with Todt"s contribution being over seventy lithographed illustrations. He died in Melbourne on 10 July 1900.