Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums

WINCKELMANN, Johann Joachim (1717-1768). Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums. [With:] Anmerkungen ber die Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums. Dresden: Waltherische Hof-Buchhandlung, 1764 and 1767
First edition of a watershed text for the formation of the modern fields of art history and archaeology. "Winckelmann's eloquent articulation of the cultural and aesthetic value of studying the ancient Greeks, his adumbration of a new method (style analysis) for studying ancient artworks, and his provision of a model of cultural-historical development in terms of a succession of period styles influenced both the public and intra-disciplinary self-image of German classical studies long into the 20th century" (Harloe). It was perhaps his life more than his work which came to shape these fields for the ensuing centuries, immortalized by Goethe in his collection Winkelmann und sein Jahrhundert and symbolizing a German dedication to the scientific revival and study of antiquity which modern scholars still grapple with today. Brunet V:1463; Hoefer XLVI, 765-772; PMM 210. See Katherine Harloe, Winckelmann and the Invention of Antiquity (2013).
Two works in four volumes, bound in one, quarto (245 x 184mm). Engraved vignette on each title, 13 engraved vignettes and 9 engraved tail-pieces (first title page laid down, last 2 leaves remargined at gutter and strengthened at outer edge, some browning and spotting worse in second work). Modern gilt-stamped dark brown morocco to style by the Baker Bindery.