Federico Gentili Di Giuseppe

Federico Gentili Di Giuseppe, also known as Frédéric Gentili di Giuseppe (Vittorio Veneto, March 24, 1868 - Paris, April 20, 1940) was a Jewish businessman and art collector whose collection was looted during the Nazi era. Early life Federico Gentili di Giuseppe was born in 1868 into a wealthy Italian Jewish family, the son of Giuseppe and Carolina Gentili di Giuseppe. He married Emma de Castro, with whom he had two children: Marcello (born 1901) and Adriana (born 1903). Translations and art collection During the 1920s he moved to Paris. He translated Stendhal's writings into Italian and devoted much energy to collecting works of art and came to own 150 Italian paintings (including the famous Christ carrying the cross by Girolamo Romani). In 1922 he bought a telescope built by Emile Schaër around 1910; this was given in 1946 to the Pic del Migdia Observatory by his son Marcel in gratitude for the protection offered him during the Second World War from 1942.