peter hertz was the son of julius hertz (1842-1920), a wholesale merchant, and his wife henriette f. hertz (1850-1921. hertz became a graduate student at a private college in 1893 and took many philosophy courses. until 1896, he attended a technological school, while he worked as a brick layer and learned how to be an architect. then he began independent art historical studies and eventually went to study in 1899 on a three-year trip to germany and italy. in 1901 he worked in london, but he began to travel for his studies in 1903, primarily in italy, but also in the netherlands.