History of Ancient Art
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History of Ancient Art (1764 as Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums) is an art history book on ancient art by German historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann. It was one of the first books written in German to become a classic of European literature.
Winckelmann's masterpiece, the Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums ("The History of Ancient Art Among the Greeks"), published in 1764, was soon recognized as a permanent contribution to European literature. In this work, "Winckelmann's most significant and lasting achievement was to produce a thorough, comprehensive and lucid chronological account of all antique art— including that of the Egyptians and Etruscans." (Haskell and Penny 1981:101.) This was the first work to define in the art of a civilization an organic growth, maturity, and decline. Here, it included the revelatory tale told by a civilization's art and artifacts—these, if we look closely, tell us their own story of cultural factors, such as climate, freedom, and craft. Winckelmann sets forth both the history of Greek art and of Greece. He presents a glowing picture of the political, social, and intellectual conditions which he believed tended to foster creative activity in ancient Greece.
The fundamental idea of Winckelmann's artistic theories are that the end of art is beauty, and that this end can be attained only when individual and characteristic features are strictly subordinated to an artist's general scheme. The true artist, selecting from nature the phenomena suited to his purpose and combining them through the exercise of his imagination, creates an ideal type in which normal proportions are maintained, and particular parts, such as muscles and veins, are not permitted to break the harmony of the general outlines.
TOC
PART I.
CHAPTER I.
GROUNDS AND CAUSES OF THE PROGRESS AND SUPERIORITY OF GREEK ART BEYOND THAT OF OTHER NATIONS.
SECT. PAGE
1. Introduction ........ 3
2 — 4. Causes of the Progress and Superiority of Greek Art 3 5 — 8. Influence of Climate in producing the Admirable Con- formation of the Greeks ..... 4
9 — 12. Kind and Joyous Disposition of the Greeks . . 8
13. Constitution and Government of the Greeks. Re
marks on their Freedom . . . . .10
14. Statues, as Rewards for Excellence in Athletic Exer
cises, and for other Merit . . . . .10
15. Veneration for Statues . . . . . .12
16, 17. Gaiety of the Greeks the Source of Festivals and
Games ......;
18 — 22. Influence of Freedom on the Mind .
23 — 27. Respect for Artists ......
28. Application of Art ......
29, 30. Sculpture and Painting attained Maturity at Different Periods .......
31. Causes of the Progress of Painting . 32 — 34. Art practised throughout Greece
12 15
18 22
23 24 25
XVI CONTENTS.
CHAPTER II.
THE ESSENTIAL OF ART.
SECT. PAGE
1 — 6. Introduction ........ 27
7. The Essential Point in Art. The Drawing of the
Nude Figure based on Beauty . . . .30
8 — 19. Of Beauty in general. Negative Idea of it . . 30
•20 — 24. Positive Idea of Beauty 41
25 — 27. The Shape of Beauty in Works of Art. Individual
Beauty ........ 45
28—32. And especially of Youth 47
33 — 35. Ideal Beauty formed from Beautiful Parts of Indivi- duals ........ 50
36 — 39. Especially of Eunuchs and Hermaphrodites . . 53 40. Denoted by the Form of Beasts . . . .60
PART II.
CHAPTER I.
THE CONFORMATION AND BEAUTY OF THE MALE DEITIES
AND HEROES.
I — 3. Conformation of Youthful Deities
4. Different Stages of Youth in Youthful Male Deities 5 — 7. Satyrs or Fauns. The Young Satyrs 8 — 10. The Older Satyrs or Sileni, together with Pan 11 — 15. The Youth and Conformation of Apollo. Of a Beau tiful Genius in the Villa Borghese 16, 17. The Youth of other Deities. Of Mercury
18. Of Mars
19, 20. Of Hercules
21 — 24. Of Eunuchs in Bacchus .... 25, 26. And, likewise, in the Bearded Bacchus
65 68 68 75
81 86 89 90 93 96
CONTENTS.
XV11
SECT. PAGE
97, 28. The Beauty of Divinities of a Manly Age ; and the Difference between the Human and the Deified
Hercules 99
29—35. Of Jupiter, and especially of Serapis and Pluto ; like- wise of Serapis and the Centaurs . . .103
36,37. Of Neptune 112
38. And of the other Sea-Gods 113
39 — 41. Idea of Beauty in the Figures of the Heroes; how it
is and ought to be 115
42,43. The Beverse censured in Figures of Heroes . . 118 44,45. In the Figures of the Saviour 119
CHAPTEB II.
THE CONFORMATION AND BEAUTY OF THE FEMALE DEITIES
AND HEROINES.
1,2. Idea of Beauty in Female Divinities 3,4. Of the Goddesses. Of the Superior Goddesses. Of Venus, the Venus de' Medici, and others like her
5. The Look of Venus
6. Venus dressed
7. Juno
8. Pallas .
9. Diana .
10. Ceres
11. Proserpine
12. Hebe .
13. The Inferior Goddesses
14. The Graces .
15. The Hours .
16. The Nymphs
17. The Muses .
18. The Fates .
19. The Furies .
20. The Gorgons 21, 22. The Amazons
23. Beauty of the Portraits of Particular Individuals
24. Ideal Conformation of Animals
121
122 127 128 128 129 133 134 135 136 136 136 137 138 138 139 140 140 144 148 149
XV111 CONTENTS.
SECT. PAGE
25. Beauty of Female Masks 151
26. Concluding Remarks on the Beauty of Conformation,
generally considered 151
CHAPTER III.
THE EXPRESSION OP BEAUTY IN FEATURES AND ACTION.
1. Of the Expression of Beauty both in Features and
Action . . . . . . . .154
2. The word Expression explained and defined . . 154
3. Principles of Artists in Expression. Stillness and
Repose abstractly . . . . . .155
4. United with Expression of the Passions . . .155
5. Propriety in general . . . . . .156
6. Figures of Female Dancers . . . . .157
7. Expression in Figures of the Divinities. Of Repose
and Stillness . . . . . . .158
8. In Jupiter ........ 159
9. In Apollo 159
10. Posture of Figures. Decorum in Male Figures . 160
1 1 — 15. Expression in Figures taken from the Heroic Age . 162 16,17. In Women of the Heroic Age . . . .166
18. Expression in Persons of Rank . . . .168
19 — 21. Roman Emperors represented on their Monuments
like Citizens . . . . . . .168
22. General Remarks upon the Expression of Violent
Emotions 170
23, 24. Of Expression in most Works of Modern Artists
generally 171
25. Ancient and Modem Artists compared in regard to
Action . . . . . . . .173
26. Supplementary Remarks on the Conceptions of
Beauty in the Works of Modem Artists . .175
27. Opinions of the Unskilled 175
28. Superiority of Modem Painting . . . .177
29. Of Living Sculptors in Rome. Imitation of Antique
Works .179
CONTENTS. XIX
CHAPTER IV.
PROPORTION.— COMPOSITION.
SBOT. PAGK
1 — 4. Of Proportion generally . . . . .181
5. Opinion of Vitruvius in regard to the Proportion of
Columns . 183
6. Proportion of the Heads of Figures . . . 184
7. Proportions of the Human Figure more accurately
determined .186
8. Faults in the Proportion of Ancient Figures . . 187 '.1 — 12. Proportion more accurately determined, especially in
regard to the Length of the Foot, in Refutation of
the Erroneous Objections of some Writers . . 189
13. Proportions of the Face determined, for Designers . 191
14 — 16. Of Composition 193
CHAPTER V.
BEAUTY OF INDIVIDUAL PARTS OF THE BODY.
1—3. Of the Beauty of Individual Parts of the Body . 197 4. Of the Head, and especially of the Profile of the
Face 198
5, 6. The Forehead 199
7 — 9. The Hair on the Forehead generally . . . "201
10. Of Hercules 203
11. Of Alexander the Great 204
13. Refutation of the Name given to a Head cut on a
Gem 204
13. Erroneous Reason of this Appellation . . . 205
14. Similarity of this Head to that of Hercules . . 206
15. A Representation of Hercules with Omphale . . 207
16. Proof of this Supposition from the Dress of the
Lydians 207
17, 18. Explanation of a Painting on a Vase of Terra Cotta. 208
19. Of Heads of Hyllus 210
20. The Eyes. The Beauty of their Form generally . 211
21. In Art, of Ideal Heads 212
XX
CONTENTS.
SECT.
22. Eyes of Divinities .
23. The Eyelids ....
24. The Eyebrows. Attributes of their
25. Objections to Joined Eyebrows
26. The Mouth .... 27, 28. The Chin ....
29. The Ears generally 30 — 85. Ears of Athletes or Pancratiasts
36. The Hair .... 37, 38. Difference, in respect to the Hair, and Modern Artists .
39. Of the Hair of Satyrs or Fauns
40. Hair of Apollo and Bacchus .
4 1 . Hair of Young Persons .
42. Color of the Hair .
Beauty
between Ancient
PAGE
214 215 216 217
218
220 222 223
229
230 232 232 232 232
CHAPTER VI.
BEAUTY OF THE EXTKEMITIES, BREAST, AND ABDOMEN. DRAWING OF THE FIGURES OF ANIMALS BY GREEK MASTERS.
1. Of the Beauty of the Extremities .... 234
2. Of the Hands 235
3 — 5. Of the Legs, Knees, and Feet .... 236
6. The Breast of Male Figures 238
7, 8. Of Female Figures 239
9. Nipples on the Breast of the Antinoiis, erroneously
so called, in the Belvedere . . . .241
10—12. The Abdomen 241
13 — 17. General Remarks in Reference to this Treatise . 242 18 — 24. Of the Drawing of the Figures of Animals by Greek
Artists 247