Pietro Toesca facts for kids
Giovanni Pietro Toesca (born July 12, 1877 – died March 9, 1962) was an important Italian expert on art history. He is known as one of the most significant historians of art from the Middle Ages up to the 20th century. His book La pittura e la miniatura nella Lombardia fino alla metà del Quattrocento was the first to explore the history of art in the Lombardy region of Italy, showing how important it was across Europe.
His Life and Work
Pietro Toesca was born in Pietra Ligure, a town in Italy. He studied in Rome with a famous art historian named Adolfo Venturi. Toesca began his own teaching career in 1905 at the Accademia scientifico-letteraria in Milan.
Two years later, he became a professor of art history at the University of Turin. In 1914, he moved to Florence, where he became good friends with another well-known art expert, Bernard Berenson. Later, in 1926, he moved to Rome. He stayed in Rome until he retired from teaching in 1948 and passed away there in 1962.
Many of his students became very famous art historians themselves, including Roberto Longhi, Ernst Kitzinger, Carlo Bertelli, Giovanni Carandente, and Federico Zeri.
In 1939, Toesca joined the technical council of Italy's Central Institute for Restoration. This institute, now called the Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro, helps to preserve and restore old artworks. He also directed the medieval and modern art sections for the Enciclopedia Italiana from 1929 to 1937. From 1946 onwards, he was a national member of the Accademia dei Lincei, a respected Italian academy.
Pietro Toesca married Elena Berti, who was also an art historian. They had a daughter named Ilaria Toesca, who followed in her parents' footsteps and became an art historian too.
Important Books
Pietro Toesca wrote many important books about art history. Here are some of his most famous works:
- La pittura e la miniatura nella Lombardia fino alla metà del Quattrocento (1912) - This book focused on painting and miniature art in the Lombardy region up to the mid-1400s.
- Storia dell'arte italiana, I, Il Medioevo (1913–27) - This was the first volume of his history of Italian art, covering the Middle Ages.
- Monumenti e studi per la storia della miniatura italiana, I (1929) - This book was about monuments and studies related to Italian miniature art.
- La pittura fiorentina del Trecento (1929) - This work explored Florentine painting from the 1300s.
- Storia dell'arte italiana, II, Il trecento (1951) - The second volume of his Italian art history, focusing on the 1300s.
See also
In Spanish: Pietro Toesca para niños
