Hartswick, Kim J(ay)

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Hartswick, Kim J(ay)

PERSONAL: Male. Education: Allegheny College, B.A., 1973; Case Western Reserve University, M.A., 1976; Bryn Mawr College, Ph.D., 1984.

ADDRESSES: Home—New York, NY. Office—Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, George Washington University, 801 22nd St. N.W., Room A-108, Washington, DC 20052. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: George Washington University, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Washington, DC, associate professor of art history and archaeology.

AWARDS, HONORS: National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Mary C. Sturgeon) Stephanos: Studies in Honor of Brunilde Sismondo Ridgway, University Museum, University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA), 1998.

The Gardens of Sallust: A Changing Landscape, University of Texas Press (Austin, TX), 2004.

SIDELIGHTS: Kim J. Hartswick is the author of The Gardens of Sallust: A Changing Landscape, a detailed examination of the famous Horti Sallustiani gardens, located in the Via Veneto quarter of Rome. The gardens date back to the imperial period and were originally planted by wealthy historian C. Sallustius Crispus. Later, they were made larger by his descendants, eventually becoming the property of Emperor Nero. The gardens continued to be maintained throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and eventually were purchased by a nephew of Pope Gregory XV, Ludovici Ludovisi. Ludovisi greatly enlarged the gardens, but they were eventually encroached upon by urban development.

Hartswick presents his subject in three sections. He first studies the topography and history of the gardens, then discusses the architecture of the associated buildings, and finally examines the sculpture that is also part of the setting. While no one knows for certain what was originally found in the garden, Hartswick refers to ancient sources to inform readers as to what elements were considered important at that time. According to Eric M. Moormann, a contributor to Bryn Mawr Classical Review, "Hartswick ends by saying that his study is preliminary. In this respect he is very modest. Of course, matters will be corrected or improved, but in several aspects this book will be a standard for the next decades. Besides, the book offers pleasant reading in a nice typography and format, almost to be enjoyed under a nice tree in a garden."