The exhibition itinerary revolves around a fundamental but little-known and hitherto little-studied work by Winckelmann: Unpublished Ancient Monuments (1767), the last one published by the German scholar, whose great influence on the world of Neoclassicism is recognized and well beyond; the author, in fact, for the first time in such a significant way, accompanies the descriptions of the "Monuments" with the graphic images of the same. These are 208 splendid engraved plates, all signed, entrusted to well-known artists that Winckelmann chooses and pays out of his own pocket, convinced of the goodness, even theoretical, of the operation.
The "unpublished ancient monuments" (1767) described by Winckelmann are "objects of antiquity", i.e. bas-reliefs, works of art, furnishings, vases, gems that capture his attention during his meticulous studies of the antiquities that he has the opportunity to admire in the collections of his circle - first of all, that of Cardinal Alessandro Albani of whom he has been librarian and close collaborator since 1758 and to whom he dedicates the volume -, but also during the numerous trips he undertakes to Rome and its surroundings, Florence, Naples, Portici , Pompeii almost unknown at the time, Caserta and Paestum.
The first two Italian editions of the work will be presented at the max museum: the editio princeps of 1767 in two volumes and the subsequent Neapolitan edition of 1820 in two volumes, with the addendum by Stefano Raffei of 1823; in addition, the two preparatory manuscripts, exhibited for the first time and coming from the University of Medicine Library of Montpellier, and all 208 engraved plates belonging to the max museum collection.
These are accompanied by 20 copper matrices, 14 proofs, i.e. etchings retouched with a burin, as well as three archaeological finds from the National Archaeological Museum of Naples: a gem depicting Zeus striking down the giants, a marble relief white with Paris and Aphrodite and a fragment of a painting found in Pompeii in the house of Cipius Pamphilus with the Trojan horse.
A specific section of the exhibition will offer engraved portraits of Winckelmann, executed by some of his closest friends – from the Municipal Library “A. Saffi”, Fondi Antichi, Piancastelli Manuscripts and Collections of Forlì – and an oil painting from Angelika Kaufmann's atelier.
Another section will be dedicated to the critical success of Winckelmann's latest text, through a rich selection of themed engravings and volumes. The "unpublished ancient monuments" are in fact part of a long tradition of collections of illustrated antiquities that have their start with the Renaissance. But if Winckelmann manifests, at the beginning of his career, a certain reserve towards the so-called "paper museums", with the "unpublished ancient monuments" we are witnessing a complete rehabilitation of this publishing genre and the launch of a new method of study, in which narration and illustration enjoy a completely equal relationship.
Although early death prevented Winckelmann from completing the development of the "unpublished ancient monuments", his main successors, from Seroux d'Agincourt (1730–1814) to Leopoldo Cicognara (1767–1834) to Luigi Rossini (1790–1857) to Giovanni Volpato (1735–1803) consider the "Monuments" the only possible model of art history, which combines text and images.
Johann Joachem Winckelmann, born on 9 December 1717 in Stendal in the Altmark, the son of a master shoemaker, is best known for his text "History of Art in Antiquity" published in 1764 with the original title "Geschichte der Kunst des Alterthums". He held important offices and was included in the most refined and cultured circuits of the time. In 1758 he assumed the position of librarian and close collaborator of Cardinal Alessandro Albani in Rome, in the homonymous villa. In 1761 he became a member of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, of the Etruscan Academy of Cortona and of the Society of Antiquaries in London. In 1763 he was appointed Prefect of Antiquities of Rome and in May of the same year he became Scriptor linguae teutonicae at the Vatican Library. In 1765 negotiations began for him to be hired in Berlin as the librarian of Frederick the Great. However, these negotiations will not be successful. After longing for it so much, in 1768 he prepares to return to Germany. On his way to Regensburg, he suddenly decides to suspend his trip to Germany to return to Rome. Arrived in Trieste he was assassinated and died after a long agony, not without having first dictated his will which made Cardinal Albani the universal heir of all his possessions, including the handwritten papers and books left in Rome.
