Lot Essay
Telemaco Signorini was born in Florence in 1835. He was the son
of the court painter to the Grand Duke of Tuscany and studied at
the Florentine Academy. As early as 1854, Signorini began
painting broad, tonal sketches all'aperto which featured
bold contrasts and simplified forms. His work gained the
attention of Odoardo Borrani, Vincenzo Cabianca and Serafino Da Tivoli, who were also in Florence, and the group began assembling in 1855 at the Caffé Michelangolo in Florence to discuss their theories (though the term "Macchiaioli" was not coined until 1862). Throughout the
1860s the group came to include Silvestro Lega, Giovanni Fattori, Federico Zandomeneghi, Giovanni Boldini and Giuseppe DeNittis; and Edgar Degas is said to have visited the group at the Caffé Michelangolo while visiting Florence in 1858. While the Macchiaioli were certainly aware of the works being painted at
the same time in France by the Impressionists, their paintings
developed independently of that movement. Indeed, Giuliano
Matteucci points out that even the name "Macchiaioli" hints at
the important differences between the two: "the nineteenth
century Tuscan 'macchia' is strictly related to a new unfettered
vision of nature bathed in sunlight and translated pictorially
into contrasted effects of chiaroscuro. For this reason...(they)
hint at an analogy with French Impressionism but the latter
developed in a far more complex cultural context...The
relationship which the Macchiaioli established with their social
environment was also vastly dissimilar" (G. Matteucci, The
Macchiaioli: Tuscan painters of the sunlight, exh. cat, p. 11).
Il Ponte d'Affrico in Piagentina dates to the
early 1860s, which places it within the context of Signorini's
first Macchiaioli paintings. Signorini's work from this time is
characterized by its innovative experimentation with a technique
that placed effect over precise delineation of objects, so that
forms were reduced to broad planes of tone and color. This new
style clearly separated him from his more academic
contemporaries. His paintings were highly controversial and were
considered "subversive" by some; the critic Camillo Boito summed
up the style when he wrote, "Abolishing shading and banishing the
half tones, (the Macchiaioli) maintained that it was now only
possible to paint with flashes of sunlight in the black shade"
(op.cit., p. 27).
Signorini had fought to liberate Italy and his paintings show a
keen interest in nationalistic themes. In Il Ponte d'Affrico
in Piagentina Signorini presents a scene of daily life in a
small Tuscan town. The painting is executed in a subdued palette
which captures the effects of the uniquely Tuscan light. The
trees, buildings and figures are reduced to solid geometrical
masses. The underlying linear structure of the composition is
energized through the play of light and shadow, while the bridge
serves as a perspectival device to lead the viewer's eye through
the picture. A seemingly simplistic view is therefore revealed
to be a complex arrangement that is thoroughly modern in its
treatment.
of the court painter to the Grand Duke of Tuscany and studied at
the Florentine Academy. As early as 1854, Signorini began
painting broad, tonal sketches all'aperto which featured
bold contrasts and simplified forms. His work gained the
attention of Odoardo Borrani, Vincenzo Cabianca and Serafino Da Tivoli, who were also in Florence, and the group began assembling in 1855 at the Caffé Michelangolo in Florence to discuss their theories (though the term "Macchiaioli" was not coined until 1862). Throughout the
1860s the group came to include Silvestro Lega, Giovanni Fattori, Federico Zandomeneghi, Giovanni Boldini and Giuseppe DeNittis; and Edgar Degas is said to have visited the group at the Caffé Michelangolo while visiting Florence in 1858. While the Macchiaioli were certainly aware of the works being painted at
the same time in France by the Impressionists, their paintings
developed independently of that movement. Indeed, Giuliano
Matteucci points out that even the name "Macchiaioli" hints at
the important differences between the two: "the nineteenth
century Tuscan 'macchia' is strictly related to a new unfettered
vision of nature bathed in sunlight and translated pictorially
into contrasted effects of chiaroscuro. For this reason...(they)
hint at an analogy with French Impressionism but the latter
developed in a far more complex cultural context...The
relationship which the Macchiaioli established with their social
environment was also vastly dissimilar" (G. Matteucci, The
Macchiaioli: Tuscan painters of the sunlight, exh. cat, p. 11).
Il Ponte d'Affrico in Piagentina dates to the
early 1860s, which places it within the context of Signorini's
first Macchiaioli paintings. Signorini's work from this time is
characterized by its innovative experimentation with a technique
that placed effect over precise delineation of objects, so that
forms were reduced to broad planes of tone and color. This new
style clearly separated him from his more academic
contemporaries. His paintings were highly controversial and were
considered "subversive" by some; the critic Camillo Boito summed
up the style when he wrote, "Abolishing shading and banishing the
half tones, (the Macchiaioli) maintained that it was now only
possible to paint with flashes of sunlight in the black shade"
(op.cit., p. 27).
Signorini had fought to liberate Italy and his paintings show a
keen interest in nationalistic themes. In Il Ponte d'Affrico
in Piagentina Signorini presents a scene of daily life in a
small Tuscan town. The painting is executed in a subdued palette
which captures the effects of the uniquely Tuscan light. The
trees, buildings and figures are reduced to solid geometrical
masses. The underlying linear structure of the composition is
energized through the play of light and shadow, while the bridge
serves as a perspectival device to lead the viewer's eye through
the picture. A seemingly simplistic view is therefore revealed
to be a complex arrangement that is thoroughly modern in its
treatment.