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Peter Connolly, British scholar/illustrator of ancient history, in May
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leno...@yahoo.com
Dec 30, 2012, 1:23:15 AM12/30/12
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He died just days before his 77th birthday.
He lived in Westhaven, Gosberton-Westhorpe, Lincolnshire, England.
From "Contemporary Authors":
".......I believe it is wrong to write about things one has not seen. This is, of course, not always possible. For my book on Caesar I would like to visit the battlefield of Dyrrhachium in Albania, but so far the Albanian government has not granted permission. It would be impossible to write the sort of books that I do if my motivation were profit. They require an enormous amount of research and travel; I have just returned from an eight thousand-mile trip around the Caesarian battlefields of western Europe.
"My great hero in ancient history is Hannibal. Over the past fifteen years I have visited the sites of all his battles and crossed every possible route that he could have taken over the Alps--several of them on foot as there is no road. A book on Hannibal will be published, possibly in 1987. My aim is to produce a complete library of deeply researched books of Greek and Roman history for children.
"I feel I must enlarge upon the subjects of religion and politics. I was brought up as a Roman Catholic and was educated by the Jesuits for nine years. As I became involved in historical research during my twenties, I found it impossible not to apply the same standards of criticism to religious writings that I would to any other ancient document. This resulted in constant revisions of my standpoint and final agnosticism in my late twenties. My political position went through a similar metamorphosis. Brought up in an ultraconservative background, I flirted with socialism and communism in my twenties. I finally became convinced that there was no universal `cure-all.' I am not opposed to any system as long as it allows for individuality and it works. I hold no other conviction than personal integrity. I am a pacifist, but admit that under certain circumstances I would fight."
http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/community/community-news/obituary-the-historian-who-brought-ancient-times-to-life-1-3941793
Excerpts:
".......Whilst Russell Crowe made Roman history fashionable through Gladiator, Peter achieved it through good old fashioned research, study and graphic and accurate illustrations. He was an author, historian, illustrator and experimental archaeologist and most of all he was an inspiration for many people not otherwise motivated by history.
Born in 1935, he studied at Brighton College of Arts and Crafts and his illustrator craft came together to bring out The Roman Army in 1975. This partnership with Macdonald Educational Press led to further successes on The Greeks (1977) and then Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome (1978). The three titles were later brought together into a single volume: Greece and Rome at War (1981 and again in 1998) – perhaps his best work. I remember clearly his passion as he asked if I had read the Bible as it contained great clues to historic realities – that I realise now was as he was bringing out ‘Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth’ (1983 - by then he was working with Oxford University Press).
Peter loved the inquisitive – not content with the sources, he walked the Alps to check Hannibal’s route and proved that certain towns could not be seen from previously cited locations, he proved endless facts on how swords and saddles were made and used – his method was to re-enact as near to reality as possible. His reconstruction of the Roman saddle was ground breaking and he demonstrated that horse-riding and warfare was possible without stirrups...."
http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/26-dis-manibus/312037-peter-connolly.html?start=45
(brief remembrances and a eulogy, plus a Times obit)
First half of Times obit:
Peter Connolly was an author, an illustrator, an historian and an experimental archaeologist. He was most widely known for meticulously researched, full-colour popular history books which were translated into many languages. These were written and illustrated in his highly characteristic style, packed with immensely detailed paintings (normally gouaches) of original artefacts and reconstructions of life and action.
His volumes ranged from the Holy Land in the time of Jesus to Pompeii, Athens and Rome, and (his final book, with Hazel Dodge) the Colosseum. But his special passion was the military history and archaeology of the Greco-Roman world, its neighbours and antagonists, presented in a succession of books exploring armaments, strategy, battles and battlefield tactics, siege warfare, forts and fortifications. A pair of slim volumes explored many of these themes through the life of a real Roman legionary turned cavalryman and decorated hero, Tiberius Claudius Maximus, known from a tombstone.
The vital underpinning to Connolly's success as a popular author-illustrator was his ability as a scholarly researcher, bringing authority and authenticity to his books. His growing academic reputation led to an honorary research fellowship at University College London and culminated in his election as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1985. These were notable honours because Connolly had no formal qualifications as archaeologist or historian; he was entirely self-taught.
Peter William Connolly was born in Surbiton, Surrey, in 1935. He was one of six children of an artist father. After boarding school Connolly relieved the boredom of National Service in the RAF through commissions to paint officers' portraits, and reading about the ancient world. He then trained as a commercial illustrator at Brighton College of Arts and Crafts, but his burgeoning passion for antiquity led to a more multifaceted career.
From the early 1970s his interest in the Roman army brought him into contact with academic specialists, who came to respect his meticulous studies of battlefields and weaponry. He became a regular participant in Brian Dobson's annual Durham University "Roman Army School". A key early collaboration was with H. Russell Robinson, curator of the Tower Armouries, who was preparing his seminal Armour of Imperial Rome (1975). Robinson worked out how the famous iron-strip armour was constructed, and Connolly prepared technical drawings of the new reconstructions for the book. These, the colour paintings of legionaries on the cover, and simultaneous publication of Connolly's own first book, The Roman Army, marked the real start of his career as an archaeological reconstruction illustrator.
Unlike Alan Sorrell, who built on the work of Amédée Forestier to popularise the genre of archaeological reconstruction painting in Britain, Connolly did not regard himself as an artist, but always described himself as an illustrator, emphasising the craft skills needed to convey academic information and ideas clearly and compellingly, in aesthetically appealing ways, through visual means. For him the techniques and aesthetics of image-making were, like those of composing text, critically important, but illustration was more the medium for his messages than an end in itself.
What also distinguished Connolly from other well-known illustrators of historical topics such as Ronald Embleton and Angus McBride was the depth to which he researched every detail of his pictures. This was manifested not just in the extensive library of classical sources and archaeological books he built up, but in the long trips he undertook, with academic friends such as Margaret Roxan, to survey battlefields and examine museum artefacts........
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/blog/Peter_Connolly_Artist_and_Scholar/
(another remembrance by an illustrator)
http://www.akg-images.co.uk/_customer/london/collections/connolly.html
(artwork)
WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
The Roman Army, Macdonald & Co., 1975.
The Greek Armies, Macdonald & Co., 1977.
Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome, Macdonald & Co., 1978.
Pompeii, Macdonald & Co., 1979.
(With R. Tomlin and B. Dobson) Greece and Rome at War, Macdonald & Co., 1981.
A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus: From Herod the Great to Masada, Hatchette, 1984.
The Legend of Odysseus, Oxford University Press, 1986.
Oxford First Ancient History, Oxford University Press, 1994.
(With Hazel Dodge) The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome, Oxford University Press, 1998.
The Ancient Greece of Odysseus, Oxford University Press, 1998.
Illustrator:
(With others) The Greeks, Silver Burdett, 1977.
"Contributor to Cambridge Ancient History. Worked in various advertising studios, 1956-61; free-lance artist, 1959-60 and 1961-69; illustrator of children's books, 1969-74; writer and illustrator, 1974--. Painter for museums."
Lenona.
He lived in Westhaven, Gosberton-Westhorpe, Lincolnshire, England.
From "Contemporary Authors":
".......I believe it is wrong to write about things one has not seen. This is, of course, not always possible. For my book on Caesar I would like to visit the battlefield of Dyrrhachium in Albania, but so far the Albanian government has not granted permission. It would be impossible to write the sort of books that I do if my motivation were profit. They require an enormous amount of research and travel; I have just returned from an eight thousand-mile trip around the Caesarian battlefields of western Europe.
"My great hero in ancient history is Hannibal. Over the past fifteen years I have visited the sites of all his battles and crossed every possible route that he could have taken over the Alps--several of them on foot as there is no road. A book on Hannibal will be published, possibly in 1987. My aim is to produce a complete library of deeply researched books of Greek and Roman history for children.
"I feel I must enlarge upon the subjects of religion and politics. I was brought up as a Roman Catholic and was educated by the Jesuits for nine years. As I became involved in historical research during my twenties, I found it impossible not to apply the same standards of criticism to religious writings that I would to any other ancient document. This resulted in constant revisions of my standpoint and final agnosticism in my late twenties. My political position went through a similar metamorphosis. Brought up in an ultraconservative background, I flirted with socialism and communism in my twenties. I finally became convinced that there was no universal `cure-all.' I am not opposed to any system as long as it allows for individuality and it works. I hold no other conviction than personal integrity. I am a pacifist, but admit that under certain circumstances I would fight."
http://www.spaldingtoday.co.uk/community/community-news/obituary-the-historian-who-brought-ancient-times-to-life-1-3941793
Excerpts:
".......Whilst Russell Crowe made Roman history fashionable through Gladiator, Peter achieved it through good old fashioned research, study and graphic and accurate illustrations. He was an author, historian, illustrator and experimental archaeologist and most of all he was an inspiration for many people not otherwise motivated by history.
Born in 1935, he studied at Brighton College of Arts and Crafts and his illustrator craft came together to bring out The Roman Army in 1975. This partnership with Macdonald Educational Press led to further successes on The Greeks (1977) and then Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome (1978). The three titles were later brought together into a single volume: Greece and Rome at War (1981 and again in 1998) – perhaps his best work. I remember clearly his passion as he asked if I had read the Bible as it contained great clues to historic realities – that I realise now was as he was bringing out ‘Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth’ (1983 - by then he was working with Oxford University Press).
Peter loved the inquisitive – not content with the sources, he walked the Alps to check Hannibal’s route and proved that certain towns could not be seen from previously cited locations, he proved endless facts on how swords and saddles were made and used – his method was to re-enact as near to reality as possible. His reconstruction of the Roman saddle was ground breaking and he demonstrated that horse-riding and warfare was possible without stirrups...."
http://www.romanarmytalk.com/rat/26-dis-manibus/312037-peter-connolly.html?start=45
(brief remembrances and a eulogy, plus a Times obit)
First half of Times obit:
Peter Connolly was an author, an illustrator, an historian and an experimental archaeologist. He was most widely known for meticulously researched, full-colour popular history books which were translated into many languages. These were written and illustrated in his highly characteristic style, packed with immensely detailed paintings (normally gouaches) of original artefacts and reconstructions of life and action.
His volumes ranged from the Holy Land in the time of Jesus to Pompeii, Athens and Rome, and (his final book, with Hazel Dodge) the Colosseum. But his special passion was the military history and archaeology of the Greco-Roman world, its neighbours and antagonists, presented in a succession of books exploring armaments, strategy, battles and battlefield tactics, siege warfare, forts and fortifications. A pair of slim volumes explored many of these themes through the life of a real Roman legionary turned cavalryman and decorated hero, Tiberius Claudius Maximus, known from a tombstone.
The vital underpinning to Connolly's success as a popular author-illustrator was his ability as a scholarly researcher, bringing authority and authenticity to his books. His growing academic reputation led to an honorary research fellowship at University College London and culminated in his election as a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries in 1985. These were notable honours because Connolly had no formal qualifications as archaeologist or historian; he was entirely self-taught.
Peter William Connolly was born in Surbiton, Surrey, in 1935. He was one of six children of an artist father. After boarding school Connolly relieved the boredom of National Service in the RAF through commissions to paint officers' portraits, and reading about the ancient world. He then trained as a commercial illustrator at Brighton College of Arts and Crafts, but his burgeoning passion for antiquity led to a more multifaceted career.
From the early 1970s his interest in the Roman army brought him into contact with academic specialists, who came to respect his meticulous studies of battlefields and weaponry. He became a regular participant in Brian Dobson's annual Durham University "Roman Army School". A key early collaboration was with H. Russell Robinson, curator of the Tower Armouries, who was preparing his seminal Armour of Imperial Rome (1975). Robinson worked out how the famous iron-strip armour was constructed, and Connolly prepared technical drawings of the new reconstructions for the book. These, the colour paintings of legionaries on the cover, and simultaneous publication of Connolly's own first book, The Roman Army, marked the real start of his career as an archaeological reconstruction illustrator.
Unlike Alan Sorrell, who built on the work of Amédée Forestier to popularise the genre of archaeological reconstruction painting in Britain, Connolly did not regard himself as an artist, but always described himself as an illustrator, emphasising the craft skills needed to convey academic information and ideas clearly and compellingly, in aesthetically appealing ways, through visual means. For him the techniques and aesthetics of image-making were, like those of composing text, critically important, but illustration was more the medium for his messages than an end in itself.
What also distinguished Connolly from other well-known illustrators of historical topics such as Ronald Embleton and Angus McBride was the depth to which he researched every detail of his pictures. This was manifested not just in the extensive library of classical sources and archaeological books he built up, but in the long trips he undertook, with academic friends such as Margaret Roxan, to survey battlefields and examine museum artefacts........
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/blog/Peter_Connolly_Artist_and_Scholar/
(another remembrance by an illustrator)
http://www.akg-images.co.uk/_customer/london/collections/connolly.html
(artwork)
WRITINGS BY THE AUTHOR:
The Roman Army, Macdonald & Co., 1975.
The Greek Armies, Macdonald & Co., 1977.
Hannibal and the Enemies of Rome, Macdonald & Co., 1978.
Pompeii, Macdonald & Co., 1979.
(With R. Tomlin and B. Dobson) Greece and Rome at War, Macdonald & Co., 1981.
A History of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus: From Herod the Great to Masada, Hatchette, 1984.
The Legend of Odysseus, Oxford University Press, 1986.
Oxford First Ancient History, Oxford University Press, 1994.
(With Hazel Dodge) The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens and Rome, Oxford University Press, 1998.
The Ancient Greece of Odysseus, Oxford University Press, 1998.
Illustrator:
(With others) The Greeks, Silver Burdett, 1977.
"Contributor to Cambridge Ancient History. Worked in various advertising studios, 1956-61; free-lance artist, 1959-60 and 1961-69; illustrator of children's books, 1969-74; writer and illustrator, 1974--. Painter for museums."
Lenona.
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