Report on the Aeginetan Sculptures: With Historical Supplements

by Johann Martin von Wagner, Louis A. Ruprecht Jr. (Introduction), Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (Editor)

The controversial removal of the Parthenon sculptures from Greece to England in the first decade of the nineteenth century by Thomas Bruce, seventh Earl of Elgin, sparked an international competition for classical antiquities. This volume tells a lesser-known chapter of that story, concerning sculptures from the Temple of Aphaia on the Greek island of Aegina. Discovered in 1811 as the Parthenon project was nearing its completion, these ancient sculptures were acquired at auction by Johann Martin Wagner (1777-1858) on behalf of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria. The sculptures turned out to be significant in a number of ways, offering important evidence for a transitional period of Greek art between the archaic and classical eras, for the existence of an independent Aeginetan school that was the equal of Athenian art at the time, and for Greek sculptures having been elaborately painted and adorned. Originally published in 1817 and presented here for the first time in English, this book reproduces the report commissioned by the crown prince that was written by Wagner and edited by F. W. J. Schelling and contained richly detailed descriptions of the sculptures. In addition, Louis A. Ruprecht Jr. provides a comprehensive historical introduction featuring a constellation of intellectual figures, an afterword, notes, appendices, and more than forty images to tell the fascinating story of the sculptures and their legacy from excavation to the present day.

344 pages, Hardcover

Published June 1, 2017

About the author

Johann Martin von Wagner, geadelt 1825, war ein deutscher Maler, Bildhauer und Kunstsammler sowie Kunstagent König Ludwigs I in Rom.

Johann Martin von Wagner, ennobled 1825, was a German painter, sculptor, art collector and art agent King Ludwig I in Rome.