Winckelmann
JOHANN JOACHIM, a German archæologist, the founder of scientific archæology and of classic art history; born in Stendal, Germany, Dec. 9, 1717. He was the first to consider the masterpieces of classical antiquity as representative of a stage in the development of taste, and to formulate the theory of evolution in art. He seems to have obtained his first clue from some observation of Velleius Paterculus and Quintilian. His greatest work is a "History of the Art of Antiquity" (1764), later on supplemented by "Observations on the History of Art" (1767). He also published: "Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture" (1755); "Architecture of the Ancients" (1762); "Unknown Memorials (or Monuments) of Antiquity" (1767); and many essays and pamphlets. He died in Trieste, June 8, 1768.