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| Paolo Toschi (1788–1854) | ||||||||||
| A draughtsman and line engraver, Toschi was born in Parma and initially studied painting under Biagio Martini before moving to Paris in 1809 to study engraving under Charles-Clément Bervic, followed by etching with Joachim Jan Oortman. He gained early recognition with an exquisite etching of Henry IV after François Gérard, whom he befriended in Paris. He was soon admired for his exceptional skill and for his technique, which combined delicate etching with rigorous burin engraving, achieving tonal depth and architectural accuracy without sacrificing the natural movement of the source. After returning to Parma ten years later, he established a company and an engraving school with his friend Antonio Isac. Under the patronage of Maria Louisa, Duchess of Parma, the arts flourished in Parma, and she quickly recognised Toschi’s talents, appointing him professor of engraving and director of the Ducal Academy of Parma in 1837. Soon after, he was commissioned to reproduce Correggio’s and Parmigianino’s damaged frescoes in San Giovanni and the Delia Steccata in Parma, both in watercolour and engraving. The results were published in forty-eight plates. Toschi also collaborated on numerous works, especially portraits, with Antonio Isac. By 1854, after Isac’s death, the school, which had carried his name, began to experience a decline in activity but remained the only engraving school in Italy until it closed in 1892. Toschi died in his hometown of Parma. | ||||||||||
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Art