Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768)
ca. 1777
Meet the godfather of modern art history, Johann Joachim Winckelmann, captured here by his close friend Anton Raphael Mengs. Dressed in a dramatic, flowing brown robe that looks more like ancient Roman attire than 18th-century fashion, he holds a book inscribed with Greek letters, signaling his deep obsession with classical antiquity. This portrait is a prime example of Neoclassicism, a movement Winckelmann himself helped spark by urging artists to imitate the 'noble simplicity and quiet grandeur' of Greek art. His intense, slightly dreamy gaze seems to look right through you, perhaps envisioning the ancient ruins he so passionately wrote about.
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