At the beginning of the 19th century, the dissertations by Lanzi on the ancient figured vases, published in De' vasi antichi dipinti volgarmente detti etruschi (1806) and in Illustrazioni di due vasi fittili ed altri monumenti recentemente ritrovati in Pesto (1809, but written in 1805), represented the most articulated and mature reflection concerning the origin of the so called ‘Etruscan vases’. Nevertheless, in the 20th century they have been almost completely neglected by the history of studies relevant to this topic. Yet Lanzi’s dissertations not only disproved the Etrusco-centric theories promoted by G.B. Passeri on these vases, but also adduced many arguments supporting the Greek origin or nature of them. Actually, the debate on this topic had been initiated in Campania and Sicily in the 1740s; later it was made known to a wider audience by Winckelmann’s Geschichte, but before Lanzi it remained unsystematic, without decisive arguments. This paper analyzes Lanzi’s dissertations in the historical-cultural context of their publication, in order to better understand the theoretical reflections and the practical methods employed by Lanzi in these studies.
«il vero modo d’illustrare le antiche cose [...] non è certamente lavorar sistemi, come il Passeri fece rispetto a' vasi»: il contributo di Luigi Lanzi alla ceramologia tardo-settecentesca
SANTUCCI, ANNA
2012
Abstract
At the beginning of the 19th century, the dissertations by Lanzi on the ancient figured vases, published in De' vasi antichi dipinti volgarmente detti etruschi (1806) and in Illustrazioni di due vasi fittili ed altri monumenti recentemente ritrovati in Pesto (1809, but written in 1805), represented the most articulated and mature reflection concerning the origin of the so called ‘Etruscan vases’. Nevertheless, in the 20th century they have been almost completely neglected by the history of studies relevant to this topic. Yet Lanzi’s dissertations not only disproved the Etrusco-centric theories promoted by G.B. Passeri on these vases, but also adduced many arguments supporting the Greek origin or nature of them. Actually, the debate on this topic had been initiated in Campania and Sicily in the 1740s; later it was made known to a wider audience by Winckelmann’s Geschichte, but before Lanzi it remained unsystematic, without decisive arguments. This paper analyzes Lanzi’s dissertations in the historical-cultural context of their publication, in order to better understand the theoretical reflections and the practical methods employed by Lanzi in these studies.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.