M. Marangoni Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Matteo Marangoni (1876 - 1958) was an art historian of Tuscan origin. He taught at the Universities of Pisa and Milan. Read the full biography

Matteo Marangoni (1876 - 1958) was an art historian of Tuscan origin. He taught at the Universities of Pisa and Milan. His books Know how to see (1933) and How to look at a picture (1948), in which, reconnecting to the theories of "pure visibility", he affirmed the need for an immediate perception of the formal values ​​of the work of art. He also wrote Understanding Music (1953). He took his classical high school diploma in 1896 but did not continue his studies immediately. Passionate about music, he moved to London, where he performed as a pianist in public places and composed short musical pieces for voice and piano. Returning to Florence, he enrolled in the Faculty of Sciences, graduating in anthropology in 1905: having moved to Paris and then to London, he also traveled to Germany, developing a profound interest in figurative art so that, upon returning to Italy, he attended a course in Bologna. of art history. From 1916 to 1925 he taught art history at the Collegio della SS. Annunziata di Poggio Imperiale and for a short time also directed, in 1920, the Pinacoteca di Brera and in 1924 the National Gallery of Parma. In 1925 he was appointed by the University of Palermo to teach the history of art and the following year he became a free professor at the University of Pisa. From 1938 he taught art history at the University of Milan, returning to the Pisan university from 1946 until his retirement in 1951.