Giovanni Pietro Toesca (12 July 1877 - 9 March 1962) was an Italian academic and art historian, notable as one of the most important historians of medieval to 20th century art. His ''La pittura e la miniatura nella Lombardia fino alla metà del Quattrocento'' was the first attempt to reconstruct the course of figurative Lombard art from the Middle Ages onwards, defining its importance across Europe.

Life

Born in

Pietra Ligure Pietra Ligure ( lij, A Prïa) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Savona in the Italian region Liguria, located about southwest of Genoa and about southwest of Savona. It is mainly a touristic city. Pietra Ligure borders the foll ...

, he studied in Rome under

Adolfo Venturi Adolfo Venturi (3 September 1856, Modena – 10 June 1941, Santa Margherita Ligure) was an Italian art historian. His son, Lionello Venturi, was also an art historian. Biography He received his education in Modena and Florence, and in 1878 ...

and began his own career as a teacher at

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

's Accademia scientifico-letteraria in 1905. Two years later he was chosen for the newly established chair in art history at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the oldest universities in Europe and continues to play an impo ...

. He moved to

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 1914, where he established a strong friendship with

Bernard Berenson Bernard Berenson (June 26, 1865 – October 6, 1959) was an American art historian specializing in the Renaissance. His book ''The Drawings of the Florentine Painters'' was an international success. His wife Mary is thought to have had a large h ...

, and then Rome in 1926, remaining in the latter city until the end of his teaching career in 1948 and also dying there in 1962. His most important students included

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 ...

Ernst Kitzinger Ernst Kitzinger (December 27, 1912 – January 22, 2003) was a German- American historian of late antique, early medieval, and Byzantine art. Biography Kitzinger was born into a well-educated Jewish family in Munich; his father, Wilhelm Nathan ...

, Carlo Bertelli,Bertelli, Carlo
''

Enciclopedia biografica universale Enciclopedia (in Spanish language, Spanish and Italian language, Italian), or enciclopédia (in Portuguese language, Portuguese), means the English word encyclopedia. Enciclopedia may refer to: *''Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana ...

'',

Istituto dell'Enciclopedia italiana Treccani The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' (Italian language, Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an I ...

Giovanni Carandente and

Federico Zeri Federico Zeri (12 August 1921 – 5 October 1998) was an Italian art historian specialised in Italian Renaissance painting. He wrote for the Italian newspaper '' La Stampa'', and was a well known television-personality in Italy. Zeri was born i ...

. In 1939 he joined the technical council of Italy's Istituto Centrale per il Restauro, now the

Istituto superiore per la conservazione ed il restauro The ISCR (Istituto Superiore per la Conservazione ed il Restauro: High Institute for Conservation and Restoration - formerly Istituto Centrale di Restauro: "Central Institute of Restoration - ICR") is a body of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage ...

. He was also director of the medieval and modern art sections of the 1929-1937

Enciclopedia Italiana The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' (Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language en ...

and national member of the

Accademia dei Lincei The Accademia dei Lincei (; literally the "Academy of the Lynx-Eyed", but anglicised as the Lincean Academy) is one of the oldest and most prestigious European scientific institutions, located at the Palazzo Corsini on the Via della Lungara in Rom ...

from 1946 onwards. He married the art historian and essayist Elena Berti (1900-1967) and they had one child, Ilaria Toesca, who followed her parents into art history.

Works

* ''La pittura e la miniatura nella Lombardia fino alla metà del Quattrocento'' (1912) * ''Storia dell'arte italiana, I, Il Medioevo'' (1913–27) * ''Monumenti e studi per la storia della miniatura italiana, I'' (1929) * ''La pittura fiorentina del Trecento'' (1929) * ''Storia dell'arte italiana, II, Il trecento'' (1951)

References

Bibliography

Giulio Carlo Argan Giulio Carlo Argan (17 May 1909 – 12 November 1992) was an Italian art historian, critic and politician. Biography Argan was born in Turin and studied in the University of Turin, graduating in 1931. In 1928 he entered the National Fascist Part ...

, "La creazione dell'Istituto Centrale del restauro", interview edited by Mario Serio, Roma, 1989 *

, “Pietro Toesca”, in AA.VV., ''Letteratura italiana. I critici'', vol. V, Milano, Marzorati, 1987, pp. 3347–3351. * * * Stefano Baldi - Viola Agata Lanza, ''Le fotografie Toesca all'Università di Torino'', "Culture del testo e del Documento", a. 11, n. 33, settembre-dicembre 2010, pp. 31–50. {{DEFAULTSORT:Toesca, Pietro University of Turin faculty University of Florence faculty Sapienza University of Rome faculty People from the Province of Savona 1877 births 1962 deaths Members of the Lincean Academy Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy