Winckelmann, Johann Joachim

Winckelmann, Johann Joachim (1717-1768), German classical archaeologist and art historian, born in Stendal, and educated at the University of Halle. In 1755 he published his first major work, an essay entitled Gedanken über die Nachahmung der griechischen Werke in der Malerei und Bildhauerkunst (Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture). Inspired by his study of the theory and history of art, Winckelmann went to Rome, where he entered the service of Alessandro Cardinal Albani. His reports on the excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum gave classical scholars the first reliable scientific information about the treasures unearthed at the site. In 1762 he published his Anmerkungen über die Baukunst der Alten (Observations on the Architecture of the Ancients).

Winckelmann's greatest work, Geschichte der Kunst des Altertums (History of Ancient Art, 1764), surveyed the history of Greek art and set forth his theories on its fundamental aesthetic principles. A classic text, it strongly influenced many writers and philosophers, including the German critic Gotthold Ephraim Lessing and the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Winckelmann's most notable subsequent work was his Monumenti Antichi Inediti (Unpublished Ancient Monuments, 2 vols., 1767-1768).