Per conoscere Marisa Volpi
Maria Stella Bottai
The article deals with the cultural heritage of Marisa Volpi (Macerata 1928-Rome 2015) in the field of contemporary art history, in particular her documents archive and the dedicated website (www.marisavolpi.it). Professor Emeritus of Art History at La Sapienza University of Rome, art critic and writer, Marisa Volpi devoted herself to art historical research, the promotion of modern and contemporary artists (such as Manet, Böcklin, Kandinsky, De Chirico, Paolini, and others), and writing until her death in May 2015. Volpi’s archive collects the writings composed during her academic career: unpublished letters, notes, rare publications, temporarily kept at the Rome University premises, waiting for a permanent destination. The website presents her activity and texts; it can be navigated through chronological order or by subject. In one section, her voice reads the incipit of her short stories and novels on artists’ lives. A section is devoted to research projects started by Volpi’s pupils, inspired by her seminal studies on 19th and 20th century art.