Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Translator's Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- On Art
- 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
- On Architecture
- On Archaeology
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
Treatise on the Capacity for Sensitivity to the Beautiful in Art and the Method of Teaching It
from On Art
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 March 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Translator's Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- On Art
- 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
- On Architecture
- On Archaeology
- Notes
- Select Bibliography
Summary
δμως δέ λΰσαι δυνατός όξεΐ-
αν έπιμομφάν ό τόϰος ανδϱῶν.
—Pindar, Olympian, 10My Friend!
Concerning the delay of the draft text promised to you on the ability to appreciate beauty in art, I shall explain myself in the words of Pindar. When he had made Agesidamus, a noble youth from Locri, “beautiful of form and permeated with grace,” wait a long time for an ode he had intended for him, he said “A debt paid with interest removes the reproach.” My Kind Lord can relate this to the present treatise, which has turned out to be more elaborate than was intended originally, when that which was promised was to appear together with other so-called Roman Letters.
The content stems from you. Our acquaintanceship was short, and too short for both you and me, but the harmony between our minds was obvious to me when I caught sight of you for the first time. Your physique led me to conclude the existence of that which I desired, and I discovered in a beautiful body a soul made to be virtuous, one that is gifted with the appreciation of beauty. Taking leave of you was therefore one of the most painful such occasions of my life, and our mutual friend is a witness to this, even after your departure, for your being at such a distance under remote skies leaves me no hope of seeing you again.
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- Information
- Johann Joachim Winckelmann on Art, Architecture, and Archaeology , pp. 149 - 168Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2013