August Mau

August Mau (* October 15, 1840 in Kiel, † March 6, 1909 in Rome ) was a German classical archaeologist, known by exploring Pompeii.

Life

August Mau, son of theology professor Heinrich August Mau Mau and his wife Louise, née von Rumohr, studied classical philology at the universities of Kiel and Bonn. After receiving his doctorate in 1863 with Otto Ribbeck in Kiel August Mau was initially employed as a teacher, most recently in Gluckstadt.

For health reasons he gave in 1869 to the teaching profession, and lived in Rome, where he worked from 1873 as a secretary at the German Archaeological Institute (DAI ) since 1872. He oversaw the subject catalog of the Institute's library and published it in book form. In 1894 he became a corresponding member of the DAI.

Scientifically, Mau primarily dealt with the submerged during eruption of Vesuvius Pompeii, first with the inscriptions, then especially with the mural, which he built on previous research by Wolfgang Helbig and Giuseppe Fiorelli. He shared the historical development of Pompeian wall painting as the first one in four different eras and emphasized the autonomy of Roman art opposite the Greek.

Mau also wrote research reports and in a comprehensible representation Pompeii in life and art, which is still regarded as a standard work.

Writings

• Pompeian posts. Reimer, Berlin, 1879.
• History of decorativen wall painting in Pompeii. Reimer, Berlin 1882.
• Guide through Pompeii. Furchheim, Naples 1893. 4th Edition Engelmann, Leipzig 1903. 6th edition, edited by Albert Ippel. Ibid. 1928.
• Pompeii in life and art. Engelmann, Leipzig 1900. 2nd edition with a chapter on Herculaneum ibid., 1908. Appendix to the second edition. Ibid. In 1913.
• Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Volume 4 Inscriptiones parietariae Pompeianae Herculanenses Stabianae. Supplementi pars 2 Inscriptiones parietariae et vasorum fictilium. Reimer, Berlin, 1909.
• Catalogue of the library of the Imperial German Archaeological Institute in Rome. 2 vols. Löscher, Rome from 1900 to 1902. Newly edited by Eugen Mercklin and Friedrich Matz. 2 volumes into 4 volumes and supplement. Löscher, Rome / de Gruyter, Berlin 1913-1932.