Papini, Roberto, 1883-1957

Roberto Papini, architect, art historian, critic and teacher, was born in 1883 in Pistoia. He attended courses of drawing and architecture at the Politecnico in Milan; then he studied mathematics and physics at the University of Pisa. From 1908-1910 he studied history of art with Adolfo Venturi at the University of Rome.

He held a number of important appointments throughout his life, including the directorships of the Galleria Comunale di Prato (1912), the Pinacoteca di Brera (1920), the Galleria Nazionale d'arte Moderna in Rome (1933), and the Museum of Arts and Industry. He also worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the superintendant for the furnishing of embassies, consulates, and legations abroad from 1921 to 1926. He was a founder of the magazine Architettura e arti decorative, as well as the author of numerous journal and magazine articles on contemporary art and urbanism including Conciliatore, Corriere della Sera, Il Mondo, Rassegna italiana, Dedalo, and Emporium. He was also the author of many art history publications. After the second world war, Papini was appointed to the commission to reconstruct Florence's historic center. He also taught art history at various universities, first at the Museo Artistico Industriale di Roma, then the University for Foreigners in Perugia. In 1934 he was appointed professor of Florentine art at the Istituto Superiore d'Architettura. In 1941 he became professor of architectural history in the architecture department. Roberto Papini died in Modena on November 10, 1957.

Livia de Kuzmik was born in Budapest, Hungary, on December 10, 1898. She studied in Budapest with sculptor Ede Telcs, in London with Professor Whiting of the Royal Academy and the Heatherely School of Art, at the Royal Academy in Rome with sculptor Arturo Dazzi, and finally at the University of Florence with Roberto Papini whom she married as his second wife. After Roberto Papini's death, during late 1960s she was visiting Professor at Northwood University in Michigan. Livia de Kuzmik Papini's works were exhibited in the Royal Academy in London and at international exhibitions in Paris, Copenhagen, Budapest, Madrid, Washington, Venice, Rio de Janiero, Milan and Florence. She died in Florence on December 20, 1976.

From the description of Papers, 1906-1957. (Harvard University). WorldCat record id: 444735518

Roberto Papini, architect, art historian, critic and teacher, was born in 1883 in Pistoia. He studied drawing and architecture at the Politecnico in Milan; he then completed coursework in mathematics and physics at the University of Pisa. From 1908-1910 he studied art history with Adolfo Venturi at the University of Rome.

He held a number of important appointments throughout his life, including the secretaryship of the “Associazione per l’arte in Pisa” (1907-1908), the directorships of the Galleria Comunale di Prato (1912), the Pinacoteca di Brera (1920), the Galleria Nazionale d’arte Moderna in Rome (1933), and the Museum of Arts and Industry (1928) in Rome. He also worked for the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the superintendent responsible for the furnishing of embassies, consulates, and legations abroad from 1921-1926.

He was a founder of the magazine Architettura e arti decorative, as well as the author of numerous journal and magazine articles on contemporary art and urbanism. He wrote for a variety of periodicals including newspapers such as Conciliatore, Corriere della Sera, and Il Mondo, and the magazines, Rassegna italiana, Dedalo, and Emporium. He was the author of many art history publications, including Catalogo delle cose d’arte e di antichità d’Italia: Pisa (2 volumes; Rome, Calzone, 1912-1914); Catalogo della Galleria Comunale di Prato (1912); Le arti a Monza nel MCMXXIII (1923), and a three-volume monograph on Francesco di Giorgio Martini published in 1946.

After the Second World War, Papini was appointed to the commission to reconstruct Florence’s historic center. He also taught art history at various universities, first at the Museo Artistico Industriale di Roma, then at the University for Foreigners in Perugia. In 1934 he was appointed Professor of Florentine Art at the Istituto Superiore d'Architettura. In 1941 he became Professor of Architectural History in the Architecture department, and in 1943 he initiated a course on the style and construction of monuments.

His second wife was the Hungarian sculptor Livia de Kuzmik (1898-1976). Livia was born in Budapest, Hungary on December 10, 1898, and it was there that she studied with the sculptor Ede Telcs. Livia also studied in London with Professor Whiting of the Royal Academy and the Heatherely School of Art, in Rome with sculpture Arturo Dazzi of the Royal Academy, and with Roberto Papini at the University of Florence, whom she ultimately married.

Roberto died in Modena on November 10, 1957.

In the decade following her husband's death Livia went to the U.S. as a visiting professor at Northwood University in Michigan. Her works were exhibited at the Royal Academy in London and at international exhibitions in Paris, Copenhagen, Budapest, Madrid, Washington, Venice, Rio de Janiero, Milan and Florence.

There are three works by LP at Villa I Tatti. Two of them are small porcelain statuettes of Adam and Eve wich both have Livia’s signature in pen on the bottom. They also bear cast stamps: “HERDEN” on Adam, “HERDEN / HUNGARIA / 1941” on Eve. The third work is a life-size bronze bust of Bernard Berenson (1958) signed “L. Papini.”

Livia died in Florence on December 20, 1976.

From the guide to the Roberto Papini Papers, 1906-1957. A Finding Aid., 1910-2005, (Biblioteca Berenson, Villa I Tatti - The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies)