Johann Joachim Winckelmann biography. Biography of Johann Joachim Winckelmann German art critic, founder of modern ideas about ancient art and the science of archeology

His life is similar to the life of the Prophet, that is, it is subject to God's providence, and not to what he could make of his life himself - of his own free will.

Born in 1717 in Prussia in the town of Stendal, near Magdeburg, in the family of a poor shoemaker. Judging by his origin, only the most difficult need could await him ahead. He studied at a school permeated with the "Prussian spirit", where they taught the "science of obedience." He studied himself, reading the works of ancient authors, moreover, in the original language: Italian, Latin, ancient Greek.

At the age of 17 he entered the University. According to Prussian rules, a person who received such a high education could rise one step above the footman, becoming a home teacher. All of a sudden…

In 1748, Winckelmann became the librarian of Count Bunau in Netnitz, near Dresden. In joint work, the "History of the German Emperors and the German Empire" is born. However, the main thing is different - the opportunity to get acquainted with the collection of works of art collected in the Zwinger - the famous Dresden Gallery, which has already begun to compete with Versailles.

The result is an essay entitled: "Thoughts on the imitation of Greek models in painting and sculpture." The main word, thanks to which the classical tradition will give new powerful shoots, is pronounced: imitation. A little more and the apologists of Classicism will bow their heads before Winckelmann's thesis, paradoxical in form...

ONLY ONE WAY IS IN ART for
WHO WANTS TO BECOME GREAT and, if possible,
UNIQUE: THIS WAY IS IMITATION OF THE ANCIENTS.

Winckelmann's "Thoughts" amazed readers with the clarity of the world outlook imprinted in them. The essay was presented to the Elector of Saxony. He said - “This fish should swim in its own water, and gave the wonderful scientist a pension of 200 thalers.

In 1755, Winckelmann converted to Catholicism and left for Rome, where the treasures of the Vatican collections opened before him. In the capital of the world, Winckelmann studies ancient sculpture and gems: precious or semi-precious stones with incised (intaglia) or protruding (cameo) images of mythological and everyday scenes. At a time when scientists could not visit Greece, which was under Turkish rule, the gems were, in fact, the only original available for direct study.

In 1764, Winckelmann's "History of the Art of Antiquity" was published in Dresden. The book immediately diverges throughout enlightened Europe, including Catherine's Russia.

The success of the composition surpasses all expectations, the most ardent imagination allowable. Winkelman becomes a member of two academies - Roman (St. Luke) and London. The Elector of Saxony lays claim to the outstanding scientist and demands his return to Dresden.

In 1767, reluctantly, as if anticipating the irreparable, he set off on his return journey. In Vienna, the scientist is greeted with honors, like a triumphant. They are awarded with valuable gifts and four gold medals, which played an evil role in his fate. He shows the awards to his fellow traveler, who turned out to be a criminal who had just served time in prison...

Winckelmann, who victoriously resisted the most difficult trials, having reached the peak of wisdom and glory at the age of 51, was killed by a man from another world where there are no peaks - only falling into the abyss of lack of spirituality.

All of Europe mourned the loss of the scientist, whose merits for the Enlightenment are great and undeniable. On the "History of the Art of Antiquity", written by Winckelmann, the classical education of the 18th - 19th centuries is based. He said for the first time what for these two centuries has become a truth that does not require proof.

EVERYONE (PEOPLE) STRIVES THE BEAUTIFUL IN HIS OWN,
BUT ONLY THE GREEKS SUCCESSD TO IMPLEMENT IT.

To find out why Europe, including Russia, believed in this thesis, let's reveal the content of the two concepts of the scientist. The first will clarify the reasons for the superiority of the art of the Greeks. The second will show what is the essence of beauty that gave the world the Age of Enlightenment.

THERE ARE THREE REASONS FOR THE SUPERIORITY OF GREEK ART:

THE INFLUENCE OF THE SKY,
IMPACT OF EDUCATION,
INFLUENCE OF THE IMAGE OF GOVERNANCE.

1. THE INFLUENCE OF THE SKY- the location of the country, climate, nutrition, imprinted in the appearance of people and the way they think ...

The soul is constantly reflected on the face, or, better to say,
the character of the nation. The closer nature is to the Greek sky, the
more beautiful, loftier and more majestic is the appearance of her children.
A mind supported by a strong, healthy body,
could unfold in all its activities.

Lord, what is he talking about, the sky of Greece is still the same, but the Hellenes, as if there weren’t, and aren’t there? Let's not get into an argument over which sky will give birth to more beautiful children. Let us agree that the connection with heaven and earth gives strength to man. In addition, according to Winckelmann, Greek art is not interesting in itself, but as a way of knowing that "should lead us to the truth." To understand this truth, we follow the further development of the thought of the great enlightener...

1. 1. IMPACT OF EDUCATION.

None of the people attached such importance to beauty ...
Beauty was considered a virtue that gave the right
to immortality, and Greek history contributed to
enumerating persons gifted with beauty.
The wise then enjoyed the greatest honor
and was known in every city as rich among us.
The artist enjoyed the same respect ...
Many temples were Pinakotheks - painting galleries:
they exhibited paintings by the best masters.
One of the main prayers of the Greeks was the request
on the preservation of memory: every master,
improved in skill, could over time
count on perpetuating his name.
The highest glory in the eyes of the people was to win the
Olympic Games. The whole city of the winner took part in this event, for the success of one increased the brilliance of the whole fatherland. A citizen who contributed to the greatness of the motherland deserved an award in the form of a statue. In order to fully appreciate the influence of art on the Greeks, one must remember the haste with which the Greek cities acquired beautiful monuments and the whole people took upon themselves the costs of acquiring a statue of a god or a winner at the games.

1. 1. 1. 1. 1. INFLUENCE OF THE IMAGE OF GOVERNANCE.

         Freedom that reigned in administration and state
         structure of the country, was one of the main impulses
         art of Greece. It was the realm of freedom.
         Later tyrants rose, but only in places,
         the whole nation has never recognized a single sovereign.
         Because no one had the exclusive right to greatness
         among fellow citizens and to immortality at the expense of other people.

         The way of thinking among the Greeks was the noble offspring of freedom.
         That is why art flourished.

         Think about it, please, and you will be shocked. Before us is a carefully developed educational catechism, which should give a "Citizen contributing to the greatness of the motherland."

         This, indeed, is a catechism: a teaching that makes one think about Eternity. More precisely - about "perpetuating one's name" or about immortality. Accordingly, Eternity is different here - not Christian with the End of the World, the Last Judgment and a well-deserved reward, but, on the contrary, inseparable from the earthly glory of the name, from the earthly splendor of the Fatherland. Here is Enlightenment Eternity, which can be achieved by striving for Perfection.

         The main means of achieving such a lofty goal is education through art, which allows people to understand and appreciate Beauty, which is inseparable from the reverence for wisdom, respect for artists and, of course, diligence in work - “improvement in skill”.

         The main condition for the realization of such a lofty goal is free-thinking. Say, there is no need for reservations: there has never been true freedom on Earth? Something else is more interesting. If the Greeks are removed, Prussia will arise, "recognizing a ruler who has appropriated to himself the exclusive right to greatness and immortality at the expense of other people." This is the alignment showing that Winckelmann, this noble offspring of the Enlightenment, allowed himself a lot, and the monarchs, in order to seem enlightened, had to endure a lot. Continue reading History...

         The soul that yearns for beauty is uplifted and ennobled,
         imbued with it...
         Beauty is the goal of art, one of the greatest mysteries of nature,
         the effect of which we see and feel on ourselves ...

         Beauty is pleasure. Happy is he who has found the purest
         sources of art and can quench his thirst from them ...

         With great care, Winckelmann takes on the definition of the essence of beauty, rightly believing that this task is not easy. “If only the definition of beauty were geometrically precise! And so, to give a clear concept of its essence is an enterprise that many have undertaken, but always unsuccessfully. However, the second concept is clearly visible in the presentation ...

         THE ESSENCE OF BEAUTY, ACCORDING TO WINCKELMANN, IS ALSO TRIPLE:
         ITS PROPERTIES - NOBLE SIMPLICITY
         AND QUIET GREAT.
         ITS SOURCE IS THE IMITATION OF NATURE,

         1. The first property of Beauty - NOBLE SIMPLICITY

         True beauty is supremely simple, it is pure,
         without color or taste, like the purest spring water.

         The main sign of beauty is that noble simplicity,
         which peeps through the turns of the head,
         in general outline, in the folds of clothing.

         The forms of supreme beauty are so simple and noble,
         that it seems as if it was created without any effort,
         appeared as a thought and was filled with one breath.

         2. The second property of Beauty - QUIET GREAT

         Outwardly, passions cannot be depicted without damaging beauty,
         which calms the passions.
         Quiet majesty befits the gods.
         The highest beauty appears haughty to the crowd,
         even repulsive. The wise in it cannot fail to open,
         that this is how the soul should be reflected:
         not violently, but as if through a light, watery surface.

         One of the properties of beauty is grace: prudent
         flirtatiousness. It is expressed in soft, wavy lines.
         She communicates to greatness accessibility and good looks.
         It manifests itself in the ease of all actions.
         If the figure is holding a dress, then it is like a cobweb.

         Pride in the face of Apollo is expressed mainly
         in the chin and lower lip, anger in the nostrils, and contempt
         in a half-open mouth; in other parts of this divine
         grace reigns on the head, and beauty produces it
         quite a pure impression, like the sun,
         the image of which is a deity.

         3.Source of beauty - IMITATION OF NATURE.

         Faces should be made similar, but at the same time
         the most beautiful - the highest law recognized by all
         Greek artists.

         The highest beauty is not inherent in any person, in any
         movement of the soul. It is borrowed from one or collected
         from many into one perfect whole.

         Beauty is not a blind copy of what the eye sees,
         but the reproduction of those ideal features of her,
         which the mind contemplates, comprehending the essence of being,
         universal harmonies spilled in Nature.

         The highest - ideal beauty is conceived by the divine mind,
         as Plato claimed, and reproduced by the artist,
         contemplating mind its sublime sides.

         Greek statues - what nature has created by common efforts,
         thought and art. ...the most beautiful people have manners
         usually calm and friendly, for the highest beauty
         can be conceived only on the basis of reflection.

         Here is such an “imitation of nature”: in the spirit of Platonic ideas,
         who came from the Classics to give Classicism...
         There is the Supreme beauty - Ideal.
         It is created by the divine mind.
         It is poured in Nature in the form of Universal harmonies.

         Higher, Divine, beauty cannot be comprehended
         blind copying of what the eye sees.

         Divine, beauty is comprehensible only speculatively:
         with the help of contemplation - complete immersion in the visible,
         in which the Essence of Being is revealed.

         Contemplating with the mind the sublime sides of Beauty,
         man can recreate the Divine ideal...
         And not only in works of art.
         He himself can become beautiful - like God.
         Both outwardly and in the movements of his soul.

         What do you say, beautiful creators of the Enlightenment? The ideal cannot be realized in the earthly world, if only because the ideal is not real. It means that the way of perfection proposed by you is illusory. The dream is beautiful and… dangerous. When you have to wake up, he will certainly turn into horror - blood and terror! "Guillotine, more fun, everyone to the guillotine!"

         Stop! We are getting ahead of ourselves: in a strange time for Winckelmann. It will shake Europe in 25 years, when the French Revolution breaks out. Until the deadlines have expired, we follow with submissive admiration the course of Winckelmann's thought ...

         BEAUTY IS THE MAIN MEANS OF TRANSFORMATION OF THE WORLD
         ACCORDING TO THE BENEFITS OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH.

         Yes, yes, the comprehension of the TRUTH is the fundamental principle of transformation. GOOD (Universal) - the result of the transformation. BEAUTY (Ideal) is the means of their real being. The primary task is the emergence of a PERFECT MAN: works of Nature, Thought and Art in appearance, in the state of the soul and spirit.

         Such people were not only in the "golden age" of Russia.
         The sky over St. Petersburg is the same.
         Where are his best children? Where?..

Winkelmann, Johann Joachim(Winckelmann, Johann Joachim) (1717–1768), German antiquary and historian of ancient art. The son of a poor shoemaker, he was born in Stendal on December 9, 1717. Despite poverty, in 1735 Winckelmann got the opportunity to attend the beautiful Berlin Gymnasium; two years later he was awarded a scholarship to study theology in Halle; in 1741 he went to Jena, where he studied medicine. In 1743 Winckelmann headed the school where he taught Hebrew, Greek and Latin, geometry and logic, but in 1748 he left the post of teacher.

Winckelmann's career began after 1748, when he became the librarian of a large private library near Leipzig and first became acquainted with the masterpieces of Italian painting. In 1755 he published an article Reflections on the imitation of Greek creations in painting and sculpture (Gedanken über die Nachahmung der griechischen Werke in der Malerei und Bildhauerkunst), where he used the expression "noble simplicity and calm grandeur" to characterize the excellent properties of Greek art. Winckelmann became close to the papal nuncio, who told him about the beauties of Rome, and in 1754 he decided to become a member of the Roman Catholic Church. In September 1755 he went to Rome, where he settled on Monte Pincio. Winckelmann studied the monuments, met the classicist painter R. Mengs and was introduced to Cardinal Albani, the largest collector, who appointed him a pension and invited him to settle in Villa Albani, surrounded by works of ancient art. In such an environment, Winckelmann soon came up with the idea of ​​a major work on the art of antiquity.

Although in his studies Winckelmann concentrated on Roman antiquities, he made frequent trips to southern Italy, visiting in 1758, 1762, 1764 and 1767 Naples with its excellent museums.

Winckelmann's first significant publication, a catalog of the Stosch collection published in 1760, was devoted to gems. The key principle of his approach to ancient art was to identify the differences between the works of the masters of antiquity and the Italian Renaissance. In 1761 he completed a volume on ancient architecture based on an analysis of the Greek temples of Paestum, and in 1762 another volume on the architecture of temples at Girgenti (ancient Agrigentum) in Sicily, which he had never seen. In 1764 his Report on the latest discoveries in Herculaneum- the first serious description of the excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum.

The famous work of Winckelmann History of ancient art (Geschichte der Kunst des Altertums) was completed in 1759 but not published until 1763; in 1766 its French edition appeared, and in 1767 Winckelmann added another volume to it - Notes on the history of ancient art. A complete edition of the final version of this work was undertaken by the Academy of Vienna in 1776. Story Winckelmann contains both systematic and historical sections. The art of Greece and Rome is at the center of Winckelmann's attention, but he also addresses the monuments of other ancient peoples. Apart from Stories, among the most important works of Winckelmann is the two-volume work Unpublished antiquities (Monumenti Antichi Inediti), published in 1767 and dedicated to Cardinal Albani.

From 1763 Winckelmann was an antiquary and president of the antiquities of the Vatican. In 1765 he turned down an offer from Berlin to become director of a library, a collection of coins and antiquities, but in April 1768 he nevertheless decided to return to Germany. However, when he reached Munich, he turned back and arrived in Vienna, where Maria Theresa gave him a warm welcome. In June, Winckelmann crossed the Alps again and arrived in Trieste. Here he was robbed and stabbed to death by a random fellow traveler, to whom Winckelmann showed the gold medals that were with him, on June 8, 1768.

(Winckelmann) - the famous founder of the archeology of classical art, b. in Stendal, in the Brandenburg region, December 9, 1717. The son of a poor shoemaker, despite his extremely meager material resources, he took a course at one of the Berlin gymnasiums and attended the university in Halle, where he studied mainly ancient literature. After that, he was for quite a long time a home teacher in various families; in 1743 he accepted the post of con-rector at the Seegauz school, but after five years he abandoned it and entered the librarianship to c. Bunau, in Netnitz. Here, living near Dresden, the future art historian had the opportunity to often see and study the artistic treasures collected there. They aroused in him an ardent love for classical antiquity and an aversion to the rococo style that dominated the then German architecture and plastic. The desire to get to Rome and get acquainted with its monuments prompted him to negotiate with the papal nuncio Arkinto regarding obtaining a place at the library of Cardinal Passionei, but the transition from Lutheranism to Catholicism was an indispensable condition for this. After five years of hesitation in 1754, V. decided to take this important step, the next year he found himself in the eternal city, where he became close to the painter Raf. Mengs, imbued with the same aesthetic convictions and aspirations as he did, and completely devoted himself to the study of antiques. Having enriched his knowledge and expanded his views with a trip to Naples and a visit to Herculan and Pompeii, which had recently come out from under the ashes of Vesuvius, he compiled a catalog of the gem bar collection. Stosha in Florence and after a second trip to Naples, began to publish the "History of Ancient Art" - his main work, published in 1764, shortly after that (in 1767) supplemented by "Notes on the History of Art" and subsequently translated into French and other languages. Having visited Naples again, he went, accompanied by the sculptor Cavaceppi, to Germany, but only reached Vienna; a vague anguish and a premonition of some kind of misfortune prompted him to part here with his companion and return back to Italy. On the way there, chance brought him near Trieste with the criminal Arcangeli, who had just been released from prison. This latter, pretending to be an art lover, ingratiated himself with him in order to take advantage of the medals and money that were with him. In Trieste, where V. stopped for a few days waiting for a ship that would take him to Ancona, the villain tried to bring his vile plan to fruition and inflicted several wounds on the scientist with a knife in the hotel room, from which he died on June 8, 1768. The merit of V. lies mainly in the fact that he was the first to pave the way for understanding the cultural significance and charm of classical art, revived interest in it in an educated society and was the founder not only of its history, but also of art criticism, for which he proposed a harmonious, albeit an outdated system for today. According to V-nu, the main task of art should be "beautiful", to which individual truth, action, and effect are subject; the essence of the beautiful lies in the image of the type created by our imagination and nature; it is based on the fidelity of proportions, noble simplicity, calm grandeur and smooth harmony of contours. Giving importance, therefore, not so much to the content of the artistic idea as to the beauty of the form and the correctness of the drawing, V., of course, could not appreciate the artistic works of the Middle Ages and the initial period of the Renaissance. Of the numerous writings through which he disseminated his conclusions and ideas, the following are especially interesting, in addition to those mentioned above: "Gedanken über die Nachahmung der griechischen Werke in Malerei und Bildhauerkunst" (1753), to this work "Additions" (1756), "Anmerkungen über die Baukunst der Alten" (1761), "Abhandlungen von der Empfindung der Schönen" (1763), "Versuch einer Allegorie" (1766) and in connection with the "History of Art "extensive edition: "Monumenti antichi inediti" (1767, 1768 and 1821). The complete works of V. were published by Fernov, Heinrich Meyer, Schulze and Ziebelis (in 1808-1825, 11 volumes; again in Augsburg in 1838 and the next.). In the rich literature on Winckelmann and his writings, one can point to the works of: W. Goethe, "W. und sein Jahrhundert" (1805) and Justi, "Leben W." (1866-1872). In Russian, see N. M. Blagoveshchensky’s study (St. Petersburg, 1891).

• - the most prominent German art critic, antiquarian. His main works: "Thoughts on the imitation of Greek creations in painting and sculpture", "History of the art of antiquity", "Unpublished monuments" ...

  Antique world. Dictionary-reference

• - , German sculptor, master of porcelain plastics of the Meissen manufactory. representative of Rococo. The author of works of various genres and sizes, plastic in form, rich in colors...

  Art Encyclopedia

• - theologian and archaeologist, was born in 1754 in Erfurt, studied first at the university of his native city, then in Göttingen, and after 1778 lived for several years in Russia ...

• Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - the famous founder of the archeology of classical art, b. in Stendal, in the Brandenburg region, December 9, 1717. The son of a poor shoemaker, despite his extremely meager material resources, he completed a course ...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - the author of the mystical and philosophical work "Conspectus de medicina mentis"; as a professor of theology in Halle, he accused Wolff and his philosophy ...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - German writer genus. in 1727; left in 1762 for Africa, where he went missing. Many times his "Lieder u. Sinngedichte" was reprinted ...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - German writer, b. in 1727 and left in 1762 for Africa, where he went missing. Many times his "Lieder u. Sinngedichte" was reprinted ...

  Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Euphron

• - Johann Joachim Becher, German chemist and physician. In the book "Underground Physics" he expressed the idea that all mineral bodies consist of three "earths": vitrified; combustible, or oily; volatile, or mercury ...
• - Winckelmann Johann Joachim, German historian of ancient art. A theologian by training; studied in Berlin and Halle. In 1748‒54 he served as a librarian for Count Bunau...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - German chemist and physician. Created the first chemical theory - the theory of phlogiston. He observed the evolution of combustible gas under the action of sulfuric acid on alcohol of wine ...
• - German art historian. Analyzing the history of ancient art from an enlightening standpoint, he found an ideal in the noble, sublime sculpture of ancient Greek classics...

  Big encyclopedic dictionary

• - German flutist, composer, instrumental master. Worked in a number of European cities. Author of a methodological work on the transverse flute, many works for the flute...

  Big encyclopedic dictionary

• - German sculptor, representative of Rococo, master of porcelain plasticity of the Meissen manufactory. Diverse in genres and sizes, plastic in form, juicy in color works...

  Big encyclopedic dictionary

• - Joachim German historian of ancient art, archaeologist. He received a theological education. Studied in Berlin, in Halle. From 1755 he served in Rome. Since 1763 - chief antiquarian and "president of antiquities" of the Vatican ...
• - art historian, founder of the aesthetics of classicism Fear of empty space often makes walls close; and replace this emptiness with empty pictures, devoid of thought...

  Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

"Winckelmann Johann-Joachim" in books

Joachim von Ribbentrop