Adolfo Venturi (3 September 1856,

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

– 10 June 1941,

Santa Margherita Ligure Santa Margherita Ligure () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Genoa in the Italian region Liguria, located about southeast of Genoa, in the area traditionally known as Tigullio. It has a port, used for both tourism and ...

) was an Italian

art historian Art history is the study of artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Traditionally, the ...

. His son, Lionello Venturi, was also an art historian.

Biography

He received his education in Modena and

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, and in 1878 started working as a curator at the

Galleria Estense The Galleria Estense is an art gallery in the heart of Modena, centred around the collection of the House of Este, d’Este family: rulers of Duchy of Modena and Reggio, Modena, Reggio and Duchy of Ferrara, Ferrara from 1289 to 1796. Located on ...

in Modena. In 1888 he was appointed general inspector of the ''

Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma The Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma is a public tertiary academy of art in Rome, Italy. It was founded in the sixteenth century, but the present institution dates from the time of the unification of Italy and the capture of Rome by the Kingdom ...

''. In 1888, with Domenico Gnoli, he founded the journal, "''Archivio storico d'arte''" (after 1901 it was called "''L'Arte''"). He would remain editor of the publication up until 1940. From 1896 to 1931 he served as chair of

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

and

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradit ...

at the University of Rome.Venturi, Adolfo
Dictionary of Art Historians In 1923, author John R. Eyre reported Venturi's opinion on the ''

Isleworth Mona Lisa The ''Isleworth Mona Lisa'' is an early 16th-century oil on canvas painting depicting the same subject as Leonardo da Vinci's ''Mona Lisa'', though with the subject (Lisa del Giocondo) depicted as being a younger age. The painting is thought to ...

'', which had become known to the public a decade earlier, and was proposed to be a work of

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

. According to Eyre: Pursuant to museum director Corrado Ricci's claim that ''

La Scapigliata is an unfinished painting generally attributed to the Italian High Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, and dated . Painted in oil, umber, and white lead pigments on a small poplar wood panel, its attribution remains controversial, with se ...

'' had been forged by its former owner, Gaetano Callani, causing it to be re-attributed as "by the school of Leonardo", Venturi asserted that the work was by Leonardo, and revealed evidence that sought to link the work with the

House of Gonzaga The House of Gonzaga (, ) is an Italian princely family that ruled Mantua in Lombardy, northern Italy from 1328 to 1708 (first as a captaincy-general, then Margraviate of Mantua, margraviate, and finally Duchy of Mantua, duchy). They also ruled M ...

. In 1928, Venturi expressed doubt in a painting claimed to be Leonardo's ''

Leda and the Swan Leda and the Swan is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces Leda, a Spartan queen. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while a ...

'' which had been sold in an auction for $88,400."Painting Sold for $88,400", ''The San Francisco Examiner'' (June 20, 1928), p. 9. It was reported that Venturi, "while admitting that the execution is very fine and that the picture resembles the lost original, nevertheless declared that the painting is too precious, too classical, too elegant to be entirely a product from the master's brush". Venturi's reputation as an art expert was called upon in 1929 in the ''Hahn vs. Duveen'' court case, a sensational trial that centred on the authenticity of a version of

's ''

La Belle Ferronière LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

''. Venturi testified against the asserted authenticity, deeming the painting at issue to be a "low copy". Venturi died in

at the age of 85.

Published works

In 1901 he began publishing his magnum opus, "''Storia dell'arte italiana''", a multi-volume work on the history of Italian art that spanned from the Early Christian era to the 16th century. The following is a list of works by Venturi that have been published in English: * "A short history of Italian art", English translation by Edward Hutton; New York, Macmillan Co. (1926). * "Michelangelo", English translation by Joan Redfern (1928). * "

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano () was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Roman art. Henry Mo ...

, his life and work", Paris, The Pegasus Press; New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company (1929). * "North Italian painting of the quattrocento: Lombardy, Piedmont, Liguria" (1974), English translation of "''La pittura del Quattrocento nell'Emilia''" and "''La pittura del Quattrocento nell'alta Italia''".Most widely held works by Adolfo Venturi
WorldCat Identities

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Venturi, Adolfo 1856 births 1941 deaths Writers from Modena Academic staff of the Sapienza University of Rome Italian art historians Italian art curators Italian magazine editors 19th-century Italian historians 20th-century Italian historians