Peter Heinrich von Blanckenhagen (March 21, 1909 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

– March 6, 1990 in

New York, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...

) was a scholar of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

art, and especially ancient wall painting.

Early life

Born in

, von Blanckenhagen and his family fled to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

following the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolsheviks, Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was ...

. It was in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

universities that he received his training in

Classical archaeology Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth-century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about i ...

Career

In 1947, von Blanckenhagen emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and was a

visiting professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. He would return to

, but became an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

citizen in 1956. As a scholar he was best known for his expertise in Roman painting and sculpture - particularly of the

Flavian Flavian may refer to: * A member of the Flavian dynasty of Roman emperors, during the late 1st century AD, or their works * Flavian Zeija, a Ugandan lawyer, academic and judge. Principal Judge of Uganda, since December 2019. * A person named Flavian ...

period - and he had a long and distinguished career during which he published numerous books and articles and held several eminent lectureships. He wrote multiple books about the art of the Villa of Agrippa Postumus in

Boscotrecase Boscotrecase () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about 20 km southeast of Naples. Boscotrecase, which many considered a resort, sat on the southern slopes of Mount Vesuv ...

. At his death, von Blanckenhagen was the Robert Lehman Professor ''Emeritus'' of Fine Arts at the

Institute of Fine Arts The Institute of Fine Arts (IFA) of New York University is dedicated to graduate teaching and advanced research in the history of art, archaeology and the conservation and technology of works of art. It offers Master of Arts and Doctor of Philoso ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

Honours

Von Blanckenhagen was awarded the Commander’s Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

in 1981. He was awarded the

Gold Medal Award Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

for Distinguished Archaeological Achievement from the

Archaeological Institute of America The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) is North America's oldest society and largest organization devoted to the world of archaeology. AIA professionals have carried out archaeological fieldwork around the world and AIA has established re ...

in 1982. He was a member of both the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...

and the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

Publications

* ''The Paintings from Boscotrecase''. Heidelberg: F.H. Kerle, 1962. * "Daedalus and Icarus on Pompeian Walls," ''Römische Mitteilungen'' 75 (1968): 106-145. * ''The Augustan Villa at Boscotrecase''. Mainz am Rhein: P. von Zabern, 1990. * "Das Bild des Menschen in der Romischen Kunst". Krefeld, Germany: Scherpe-Verlag, 1948. (The Human Image in Roman Art)

References

1909 births 1990 deaths Classical archaeologists Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany New York University faculty Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Germany Latvian emigrants to Germany Latvian emigrants to the United States 20th-century American archaeologists {{US-archaeologist-stub Members of the American Philosophical Society Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States

Early life

Career

Honours

Publications

Further reading

References