author
Luigi Lanzi
1732–1810
An 18th-century Jesuit scholar who helped turn the study of Italian art into a serious historical discipline, he is still remembered for writing one of the first broad histories of painting in Italy. His work also ranged into archaeology and the study of Etruscan antiquities, giving him a wide influence on how the Italian past was understood.
6 Audiobooks
The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 3 (of 6) From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century
by Luigi Lanzi
The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 4 (of 6) From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century
by Luigi Lanzi
The History of Painting in Italy, Vol. 5 (of 6) From the Period of the Revival of the Fine Arts to the End of the Eighteenth Century
by Luigi Lanzi
About the author
Born in 1732 in what is now Treia, Luigi Antonio Lanzi became a Jesuit priest and built a reputation as a learned writer with unusually broad interests. He is best known today as an art historian and archaeologist, but his work also touched language, antiquities, and literary culture.
A major turning point came in 1773, when he was appointed keeper of the galleries in Florence. Working close to great collections gave him the chance to study Italian painting in depth, and that research led to his most famous book, Storia pittorica della Italia (History of Painting in Italy). The book was important because it organized Italian art by regional schools and historical development, helping later readers see painting as a story shaped by place, time, and influence.
Lanzi also wrote on Etruscan art and archaeology, and he is often seen as one of the early figures in modern art-historical writing in Italy. He died in Florence in 1810, leaving behind books that remained influential long after his lifetime.