Oliver Pijoan / Pol Pijoan
Josep Pijoan belonged to that rare circle of scholars whose lives were asexpansive as their books. Scholar, teacher, critic, poet, and tireless gatherer ofknowledge, he moved with ease across continents and languages, yet alwayscarried within him the imprint of his father’s bookstore in Barcelona’s GothicQuarter.His body of work was immense. From the monumental Summa Artis to multipleeditions of The History of the World, as well as poetry, essays, and countlessreflections, Pijoan pursued knowledge with rigor, clarity, and anuncompromising devotion to firsthand research. Wherever he lived-Spain, theAmericas, or across Europe-he brought the same passion for teaching,questioning, and awakening curiosity.Demanding of himself and others, sometimes brusque and imperfect, Pijoan wasnevertheless fiercely loyal to those he loved and deeply committed to beauty,truth, and intellectual honesty. Though often undervalued by his homeland, hecarried Catalonia within him wherever he went. His curiosity never dimmed, hisindependence never wavered, and his devotion to art, history, and knowledgeremained the compass of his life until the very end.
