Macchiaioli stars back in spotlight
Piacenza show features a collection of 40 outstanding works
28 October, 12:02
(ANSA) - Piacenza, October 28 - A passion for the outdoors
and a trend in small-scale paintings are explored in an
exhibition here looking at Macchiaioli artists, their
brethren and successors.
The exhibit showcases a collection of 40 outstanding
works, completed by Tuscan artists during the late 19th and
early 20th centuries.
The artists studied include members of the Macchiaioli movement, which developed in the 1850s, the post-Macchiaioli painters with close ties to Tuscany and members of the so-called ''Italians in Paris'' group, who won fame abroad at the turn of the century. The pieces on show explore one of two themes sparked by the Macchiaioli: a new trend in outdoor painting and a fashion for small paintings. The move outdoors in order to capture natural light, shade and colour was considered a real break with artistic convention at the time and has drawn frequent comparisons with France's Impressionists. Small-scale works, meanwhile, were increasingly popular with buyers at the end of the 1900s, as they could be arranged to fit all manner of rooms and ''combined'' with other works to display the collector's taste. But the exhibition also highlights the skill involved in producing small works, in which every detail counted and where absolute precision were required. On display are pieces by some of Italy's most famous Macchiaioli, such as Giovanni Fattori, Silvestro Lega and Telemaco Signorini, as well as its brightest stars abroad, including Giovanni Boldini, Federico Zanomeneghi and Giuseppe De Nittis. In addition, curators have also arranged a secondary show featuring related pieces from the gallery's own collection, many of which by the same artists or featuring similar themes. Among the works taken out of storage for the exhibit are two by Fattori, including his well-known Cavalry Stop (1861-4), one by Signorini and an 1880 piece in pastels by Boldini, Portrait of a Lady. The show runs until May 2 at the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery and is entitled 'Tuscan Painting at the Ricci Oddi: Two Collections Compared'.
photo: Vincenzo Cabianca's Marble at Carrara Beach (1861).
The artists studied include members of the Macchiaioli movement, which developed in the 1850s, the post-Macchiaioli painters with close ties to Tuscany and members of the so-called ''Italians in Paris'' group, who won fame abroad at the turn of the century. The pieces on show explore one of two themes sparked by the Macchiaioli: a new trend in outdoor painting and a fashion for small paintings. The move outdoors in order to capture natural light, shade and colour was considered a real break with artistic convention at the time and has drawn frequent comparisons with France's Impressionists. Small-scale works, meanwhile, were increasingly popular with buyers at the end of the 1900s, as they could be arranged to fit all manner of rooms and ''combined'' with other works to display the collector's taste. But the exhibition also highlights the skill involved in producing small works, in which every detail counted and where absolute precision were required. On display are pieces by some of Italy's most famous Macchiaioli, such as Giovanni Fattori, Silvestro Lega and Telemaco Signorini, as well as its brightest stars abroad, including Giovanni Boldini, Federico Zanomeneghi and Giuseppe De Nittis. In addition, curators have also arranged a secondary show featuring related pieces from the gallery's own collection, many of which by the same artists or featuring similar themes. Among the works taken out of storage for the exhibit are two by Fattori, including his well-known Cavalry Stop (1861-4), one by Signorini and an 1880 piece in pastels by Boldini, Portrait of a Lady. The show runs until May 2 at the Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery and is entitled 'Tuscan Painting at the Ricci Oddi: Two Collections Compared'.
photo: Vincenzo Cabianca's Marble at Carrara Beach (1861).
