Johann Joachim Winckelmann on Art, Architecture, and Archaeology: (Studies in German Literature Linguistics and Culture)

Modern English translations of several of the most important essays of Winckelmann, one of the fathers of art history and archaeology and a strong influence on Goethe and Schiller and Weimar Classicism. Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717-68) has long been recognized as one of the founders of modern art history and a major force in the development of archaeology and the study of ancient Greek architecture. He also exerted an influence on the Weimar Classicism of Goethe and Schiller, for whom his description of Greek sculpture as evoking "edle Einfalt und stille Groesse" (noble simplicity and a calm greatness) became a watchword. He contributed to modern scientific archaeology through his application of empirically derived categories of style to the analysis of classical works of art and architecture, and was one of the first to undertake detailed empirical examinations of artifacts and describe them precisely in a way that enabled reasoned conclusions to be drawn about ancient societies and their cultures. Yet several of his important essays are not available in modern English translation. The present volume remedies this situation by collecting four of Winckelmann's most seminal essays on art along with several shorter pieces on the topic, two major if brief essays on architecture, and one longer essay on archaeology. Paired with thisis an introduction covering Winckelmann's life and work. David Carter is retired as Professor of Communicative English at Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea, and is former Lecturer in German Studies at the University of Southampton, UK. Among his recently published translations from German are Klaus Mann's novel Alexander (2008) and On Cocaine (2011), a collection of Sigmund Freud's writings on the topic.

Table of Contents:
Translator's Acknowledgments Introduction Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and the Art of Sculpture Open Letter on Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and the Art of Sculpture Explanation of Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and the Art of Sculpture and Response to the Open Letter on These Thoughts More Mature Thoughts on the Imitation of the Ancients with Respect to Drawing and the Art of Sculpture Description of the Most Excellent Paintings in the Dresden Gallery Reflections on Art Recalling the Observation of Works of Art On Grace in Works of Art Description of the Torso in the Belvedere in Rome Treatise on the Capacity for Sensitivity to the Beautiful in Art and the Method of Teaching It Remarks on the Architecture of the Old Temples at Agrigento in Sicily Preliminary Report on Remarks on the Architecture of the Ancients Open Letter on the Herculanean Excavations Notes Select Bibliography

About the Author :
David Carter is a retired headteacher and school inspector who taught history. He has written scripts and produced programmes for local radio. His research has covered many aspects of local history and was used in resource packs for schools. He now focuses on military, local and family history.