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The collectors
Married life for Antonio Boschi and Marieda Di Stefano began in 1927. They had met the previous year, while on holiday in Val Sesia, and had immediately decided to get married, but the social conventions of the time imposed a period of engagement. Born in Novara in 1896, Boschi was a young engineer only recently employed by Pirelli, where he was to enjoy a brilliant career, as testified by numerous and important patents including, to give just one example, the GIUBO (Boschi Joint). Before that, he had been an airship crew member during WW1, and shortly after graduating he had worked for two years in Budapest in the railway sector. He had a great passion for music, especially for the violin. Marieda, born in Milan in 1901, absorbed her family’s love of art from childhood, her father Francesco having been a collector, especially of Sarfattian Novecento works. Fascinated by the possibilities of texture and colour of ceramics, after a traditional education Marieda took lessons in the studio of sculptor Luigi Amigoni. She exhibited her works over the years, earning recognition in many national and international shows. In 1962, a school of ceramics named after Marieda was established in the same building, at number 15 via Jan. Still operating today, it is directed by Migno Amigoni, daughter of the maestro and a personal friend of Marieda since the Thirties. As affirmed by Boschi himself, the collection rightfully bears the name of both spouses: “this is not a tribute paid to my partner” – who died in 1968 – “but merely the truth. This was a joint venture in every sense: in the material sense, as it implied decision-making, commitment, and financial sacrifices entailing hardships in other fields; and in the artistic sense, through a sharing of taste, objectives and choices”.
A strong civic and social sense prompted Antonio Boschi to make a first donation to the City of Milan, in 1974. A second followed performed on his death, in 1988. It included his later solo purchases, which mainly took place through the Galleria delle Ore.
Photo: Milano, Civiche Raccolte d’Arte
Photo: Archivio Monganti Mendini
