Projektionen, Annäherungen, Verklärungen und Abschiede. Winckelmann und Hegel über Italien als Land der Kunst

Beyond the spiritual proximity between two systematic minds who loved the "direkte aesthethische Erfahrung", what we are interested in investigating in this contribution is first of all the consideration that the two authoritative German intellectuals had of the Land der Kunst, or Italy. Winckelmann spent there the most creative phase of his life until the tragic murder occurred in Trieste in 1768, while Hegel never arrived there. Although the philosopher had planned to undertake a "Kunstreise" in the Bel Paese during his time in Jena, this youthful project, conceived in the spirit of the Grand Tour, never came to fruition. Nevertheless, Hegel esteemed, knew and explored extensively Italian art and culture, approaching it through successive approximations.