The Child Artist

In Italy, the discovery of the child artist did not mature within pedagogy, psychology, or an anthropology primarily interested in the relations between art, madness, and crime, but came about through the work of an art historian and critic: Corrado Ricci (1858–1934). Archaeologist, art historian, senator, Director General of Antiquities and Fine Arts, from 1890 Ricci had a long correspondence with Benedetto Croce, centred not on theoretical issues but on problems of conservation of works of art and monuments. He is famous for recognising Leonardo’s Mona Lisa after it was stolen in 1911 and found in the Tripoli Hotel in Florence in 1913. He was the author of monographs on great Renaissance artists and guides to a number of Emilian cities.