Johann Joachim Winckelmann

Winckelmann, Johann Joachim (1717–68), German scholar, founder of archeology and art history. He demonstrated that art can reveal the history of a culture just as writing does. As a youngster he studied Greek and Latin in order to read Homer and other classical writers. His principal work, The History of Ancient Art (1764), is still used by art historians.

See also: Archeology.