Article by Llewellyn Matthews
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| Telemaco Signorini. Title: Il ghetto diFirenz |
A group of Italian painters called, 'The
Macchiaioli'
were active in Tuscany in the late 1800s and early
1900s and they are among the true precursors to plein air painting.
They broke with the conventions then taught
by the Italian academies of art and did much of their painting outdoors.
To the right is a painting by Telemaco Signorini depicting what is now the glamorous Piazza della Repubblica in the center of Florence.
They preceeded the French Impressionists, and
for this reason, are sometimes (erroneously) called the Italian
impressionists.
Although both movements
were dissatisfied with art as taught by academies (desiring to leave
neoclassicism), they have little else in common.
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| Llewellyn Lloyd | |
The Macchiaioli sought to invigorate the Italian painting mode of
their era by emulating the bold tonal structure of the great masters such as
Rembrandt, Caravaggio and Tintoretto.
Although some of the Macchiaioli admired the French Barbizon School,
they did not embrace the Impressionist approach of dividing the palette into
color spectrums, painting blue shadows and prioritizing color over depicting
form.
In other words, the Impressionists
were fascinated with pure color and optic effects, whereas the Macchiaioli
retained an emphasis on rendering form in the tradition of the great masters.
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| Telemaco Signorini |
The Macchiaioli were also very political and embedded in the
social issues of their day, some even fighting along with Garibaldi on behalf
of the Risorgimento and its
ideals. As such their work is represents an historic bookmark, addressing
social issues and the hardships faced by Italians of the times. Many died in poverty and obscurity, as their
art was often not well received by those who collected but there is also the matter of the great collectors who represented and traded artists works.
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| Llewellyn Lloyd |
In France the innovative art dealer
Paul Durand-Ruel (1831-1922) was responsible for much of the success of Impressionism and he is famously remembered now as a result.
Many Impressionists also came from
economically privileged backgrounds (often painting the privileged society) and could well
afford to depart from the artistic conventions of the academy system.
In Italy the Macchiaioli champion was Diego Martelli (1839–96) the critic and art collector who also the groups theorist. At the time, the art world was harsh in the assessment of their art, sometimes ridiculing their brushwork as scrubby, sometimes derisively calling
their technique “macchia,” meaning spotty or worse.
Opinions have come full circle and these
artists are well recognized in Italy but only beginning to be known in other
countries. Indeed it is difficult to
find a good book in English about them.
Nevertheless, today the techniques and the subjects of the
Macchiaioli resonate well with modern landscape painting ideals. They painted small sketches outdoors for
later use in studio pieces. They
understood the rendering of form and composing paintings through a value
structure and they are among the true predecessors of modern landscape painting.
Many of their works, sketches and larger pieces can be seen
at the Pitti Palace Museum of Arte Moderna and the Museum of Arte Moderna in
Rome.
Tuscany Plein Air salutes the work of the art of these
outstanding artists.
