Anna Banti (born Lucia Lopresti; 27 June 1895 – 2 September 1985) was an Italian writer, art historian, critic, and translator.

Life and works

Banti was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. In her youth she spent time in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, attending the University of Rome and

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

before returning permanently to

. At the university, she received a degree in art history. Her pseudonym derived from "an exceptionally beautiful woman" she knew in her youth. She married art critic

Roberto Longhi Roberto Longhi (28 December 1890 – 3 June 1970) was an Italian academic, art historian, and curator. The main subjects of his studies were the painters Caravaggio and Piero della Francesca. Early life and career Longhi was born in December 189 ...

and in 1950 they founded and edited the bi-monthly art magazine ''Paragone''. She did several stories and works over the next decades, but she would become best known for a historical novel concerning artist

Artemisia Gentileschi Artemisia Lomi or Artemisia Gentileschi (, ; 8 July 1593) was an Italian Baroque painter. Gentileschi is considered among the most accomplished seventeenth-century artists, initially working in the style of Caravaggio. She was producing profess ...

. One newspaper even headlined their report of Banti's death by saying ''Addio, Artemisia.'' This work revived interest in Artemisia's work and life. Banti's autobiographical work, ''Un Grido Lacerante'', was published in 1981 and won the Antonio Feltrinelli prize. As well as being a successful author, Banti is recognized as a literary, cinematic, and art critic. After the death of Longhi in 1970, she replaced him as the editor of ''Paragone''. Cimitero degli Allori, Roberto Longhi

Banti died on 2 September 1985 in

Massa Massa may refer to: Places *Massa, Tuscany, the administrative seat of the Italian province of Massa-Carrara. *Massa (river), river in Switzerland * Massa (Tanzanian ward), administrative ward in the Mpwapwa district of the Dodoma Region of Ta ...

, and is buried at

Cimitero degli Allori The Cimitero Evangelico agli Allori ("The Evangelical Cemetery at Laurels") is located in Florence, Italy, between 'Due Strade' and Galluzzo. History The small cemetery was opened in 1877 when the non-Catholic communities of Florence could no long ...

in Florence.

Selected filmography

* '' Yes, Madam'' (1942)

Awards

*1972

Bagutta Prize The Bagutta Prize is an Italian literary prize that is awarded annually to Italian writers. The prize originated among patrons of Milan's ''Bagutta Ristorante''. The writer Riccardo Bacchelli discovered the restaurant and soon he regularly gathere ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Banti, Anna 1895 births 1985 deaths Writers from Florence Italian art historians Italian art critics Italian women art critics Italian magazine editors Italian women novelists Women art historians 20th-century Italian novelists 20th-century Italian women writers 20th-century translators Literary translators Italian women editors Women magazine editors