Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway
Encyclopedia
Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway, born in 1929 in Chieti
(Italy
), is an art historian and specialist in ancient Greek sculpture.
, where her father is stationed. After World War II
, she studied classics at the University of Messina, where she obtained her degree in 1953 in classics. An archaeology scholarship allowed her to continue her studies at Bryn Mawr College
in Pennsylvania, where she came under the tutelage of Rhys Carpenter
. At the end of her MA
, she wrote her thesis on archaic sculpture at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens
. She received her Ph.D in 1958 and returned as a teacher to Bryn Mawr, where she spent most of her career. In 1977 she was named Rhys Carpenter Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, which she held until her retirement in 1997. In 1988 she won the Gold Medal
of the Archaeological Institute of America
. She married the physician Henry W. Ridgway in 1958.
, who is finding a type statuary through its Roman copies, focusing on identifying the originality of Roman sculptors. Rather sceptical vis-à-vis the literary sources, she sticks to the stylistic analysis of the works.
Known for the safety of her erudition and for the stimulating quality of its analyses, it has been criticized, like Carpenter, for what was described as a "devastating" or "systematic scepticism”, or revisionism.
Chieti
Chieti is a city and comune in Central Italy, 200 km northeast of Rome. It is the capital of the Province of Chieti in the Abruzzo region...
(Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
), is an art historian and specialist in ancient Greek sculpture.
Life
The daughter of an Italian officer, she spent her childhood in EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, where her father is stationed. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, she studied classics at the University of Messina, where she obtained her degree in 1953 in classics. An archaeology scholarship allowed her to continue her studies at Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
in Pennsylvania, where she came under the tutelage of Rhys Carpenter
Rhys Carpenter
Rhys Carpenter was a classical art historian and professor at Bryn Mawr College.Carpenter was born in Cotuit, Massachusetts. He took his B.A. in Classics at Columbia University in 1909. Carpenter won a Rhodes scholarship at Oxford, studying at Balliol College. There he published his own poetry...
. At the end of her MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, she wrote her thesis on archaic sculpture at the American School of Classical Studies at Athens
American School of Classical Studies at Athens
The American School of Classical Studies at Athens is one of 17 foreign archaeological institutes in Athens, Greece.-General information:...
. She received her Ph.D in 1958 and returned as a teacher to Bryn Mawr, where she spent most of her career. In 1977 she was named Rhys Carpenter Professor of Classical and Near Eastern Archaeology, which she held until her retirement in 1997. In 1988 she won the Gold Medal
Gold Medal of the Archaeological Institute of America
The Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement is awarded by the Archaeological Institute of America in "recognition of a scholar who has made distinguished contributions to archaeology through his or her fieldwork, publications, and/or teaching."It is the Institute's highest award...
of the Archaeological Institute of America
Archaeological Institute of America
The Archaeological Institute of America is a North American nonprofit organization devoted to the promotion of public interest in archaeology, and the preservation of archaeological sites. It has offices on the campus of Boston University and in New York City.The institute was founded in 1879,...
. She married the physician Henry W. Ridgway in 1958.
Views and opinions
Brunilde Ridgway is, in keeping with her mentor Rhys Carpenter, a follower of the radical questioning of the Meisterforschung (or search for the masterpiece or archetype that inspired a replica series) that dominated the history of Greek art since Adolf Furtwängler. Elaborating on Carpenter's remark that Greek sculpture is “the anonymous product of an impersonal craft.”, she maintains that the notion of the artistic personality doesn’t emerge in the West before the fifteenth century AD. She also addresses the Kopienforschung ("copy research") of Johann Joachim WinckelmannJohann Joachim Winckelmann
Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the difference between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art...
, who is finding a type statuary through its Roman copies, focusing on identifying the originality of Roman sculptors. Rather sceptical vis-à-vis the literary sources, she sticks to the stylistic analysis of the works.
Known for the safety of her erudition and for the stimulating quality of its analyses, it has been criticized, like Carpenter, for what was described as a "devastating" or "systematic scepticism”, or revisionism.
Writings (selected)
Her main works and writings are:- Severe Style in Greek Sculpture, Princeton University Press, 1970.
- "The Aphrodite of Arles", in American Journal of Archæology, vol. 80, No. 2 (Spring 1976), pp. 147–154.
- The Archaic Style in Greek Sculpture, Princeton University Press, 1977 (revised and expanded edition in 1993).
- Fifth Century Styles in Greek Sculpture, Princeton University Press, 1981.
- "The State of Research in Ancient Art" in Art Bulletin, LXVIII (1986), pp. 8–23.
- Fourth-Century Styles in Greek Sculpture, University of Wisconsin PressUniversity of Wisconsin PressThe University of Wisconsin Press is a non-profit university press publishing peer-reviewed books and journals. It primarily publishes work by scholars from the global academic community but also serves the citizens of Wisconsin by publishing important books about Wisconsin, the Upper Midwest, and...
, 1997. - Hellenistic Sculpture I: The Styles of ca. 331-200 BC, University of Wisconsin Press, 1990
- Roman copies of Greek Sculpture: The Problem of the Originals, University of Michigan Press, 1994
- Hellenistic Sculpture II: The Styles of ca. 200-100 BC, University of Wisconsin Press, 2000
- Hellenistic Sculpture III: The Styles of ca 100-31 BC, University of Wisconsin Press, 2002
- Second Chance: Greek Revisited Sculptural Studies, University of Wisconsin Press, Pindar Press, 2004.
External links
- Brunilde S. Ridgway, Dictionary of Art Historians