Carol C. Mattusch

Carol C. Mattusch

Carol C. Mattusch

Mathy Professor of Art History

Art History: Classical art and archaeology, rediscovery of antiquity

Carol C. Mattusch, Mathy Professor of Art History, teaches courses on Greek, Roman, and 18th-century art and archaeology. Her specialty is classical bronzes, in particular the connections among technology, artistic styles, and the market in the ancient Mediterranean world. She was guest curator of a recent exhibition at the National Gallery of Art: Pompeii and the Roman Villa: Art and Culture around the Bay of Naples (2008-2009). She is George Mason University’s representative to the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, and serves on many committees of that institution. She chaired the planning committee for the 2003 meeting of the International Association of Classical Archaeology, she chairs the oversight committee of the International Bronze Congresses, and she is a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and a corresponding member of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut. Her books have won awards from the Archaeological Institute of America and the College Art Association. She and her students are responsible for the acquisition, cleaning, and installation at GMU of 65 plaster casts from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Current Research

J.J. Winckelmann, “Letter and Report: Antiquities, Archaeology, and Politics in 18th-Century Naples,” J. Paul Getty Museum Publications, fall 2011

“Crossing Over: 18th- and 19th- century Travelers who worked in both Italy and Greece”

Selected Publications

Pompeii and the Roman Villa, exhibition catalogue (National Gallery of Art, 2009)

The Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum: Life and Afterlife of a Sculpture Collection (J. Paul Getty Museum, 2005)

The Victorious Youth (J. Paul Getty Museum, 1997)

Classical Bronzes: The Art and Craft of Greek and Roman Statuary (Cornell University Press, 1996)

The Fire of Hephaistos: Large Classical Bronzes from North American Collections, exhibition catalogue (Harvard University Art Museums, 1996)

Greek Bronze Statuary: From the Beginnings through the Fifth Century B.C. (Cornell University Press, 1988)

Courses Taught

Greek Art, Roman Art, Hellenistic Art, Greco-Roman Sculpture, Pompeii, 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, Rediscovery of the Ancient World, The Museum, and Internships –  Plaster Casts

Recent Presentations

GMU Visions lecturer 2009, and Dartmouth College, National Gallery of Art, Voice of America, Council of American Overseas Research Centers, Univ. of MD – Baltimore County, CBS, Washington Post, Metropolitan Club of Washington, St. John’s College, Greek Embassy, Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation. Channel 9 TV – DC, University of Calgary, University of Mary Washington, University of Richmond