- Gaetano Kanizsa
Gaetano Kanizsa (
Trieste ,18 August 1913 -1993) was an Italian psychologist and artist, founder of the Institute of Psychology of Trieste.Born to a Hungarian father and a Slovene mother, he attended the classic lyceum, and got the
laurea (post-secondary academic degree) at theUniversity of Padova in 1938, writing a thesis abouteidetic memory . In 1947 he became a teaching assistant in the University of Florence. In 1953 he returned to Trieste with the role of full professor, that he had for 30 years. He retired from academic life in 1988 and continued research until 1993, the year of his death.A dominant figure in Italian psychology, Kanizsa became famous in the 70's, after having published an article about
illusory contours (Scientific American , 1976) and the book Organization in Vision (1979).To his scientific interest, Kanizsa added his painting activity.
Bibliography
* "Perception, speech, thought" by Gaetano Kanizsa, Paolo Legrenzi, M. Sonino, Il Mulino,
Bologna , 1983
* "Grammar of seeing. Essays upon perception and Gestalt." Il Mulino, Bologna, 1997External links
* Some Kanizsa's paintings on http://www.psico.univ.trieste.it/kanizsa/catalogo/catalogo.php3
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