1855 , they met regularly at the Caffè Michelangiolo in Florence , where they discussed Italy and art , the two things they most wanted to change . The most prominent member of the gang was Giovanni Fattori . His cohorts included Telemaco Signorini , Silvestro Lega , Rafaello Sernesi , and Giuseppe Abbati .
Silvestro Lega ’ s “ The Trellis ” ( 1868 ) resembles the early work of Monet , who probably never heard of Lega . The harsh contrasts of light and dark are hallmarks of the new alma prima method of oil painting , in which light and dark colors are laid in at the same time and the same thickness . It was an alternative to the traditional “ fat over lean ” technique taught in the academies , in which dark colors were applied thinly at first , with lighter values cautiously added in layers . The subject matter , too , was unusual for its time . Instead of a dramatic narrative from history , the Bible , or mythology , Lega shows some middle-class ladies lounging in the shade .
The work of the two schools is so similar that some art historians have concluded ( falsely ) that the Italians were influenced by the French , while others have dismissed the Macchiaioli as “ Italian Impressionists .” But just as there are striking similarities between the schools , there are also significant differences . The French were the first to paint whole pictures en plein air , while the Italians made cursory sketches outdoors and finished their paintings in the comfort of the studio . Unlike such French Impressionists as Monet and Camille Pissarro , the Macchiaioli did not paint bright blue shadows , avoided transparency , and never substituted pure colors for the colors of nature . They had little interest in the optical theories that fascinated the French . Compared to those of the French Impressionists , the colors of the Macchiaioli look conventional . It ’ s hard to believe today how they shocked their contemporaries .
Giovanni Fattori
“ The White Wall ,” 1872
Silvestro Lega
“ The Trellis ,” 1868
Fattori ’ s “ The White Wall ” is even more painterly , with conspicuous flat brushstrokes . Three mounted soldiers are seen in the brutal light of summer at midday . The horse and rider in the foreground cast a sharp-edged shadow against the gleaming wall . Fattori keeps his details to a minimum , not even specifying what is in the vague blue-and-purple background . It is a field of color , not a landscape . Although Fattori painted “ The White Wall ” in 1871 , well within the golden age of Impressionism , he was painting “ impressionistically ” before 1863 , the year of the Salon that introduced Paris to Monet and Renoir .
The French Impressionists spent their youth in poverty , often enduring slings and arrows from critics , but those who led long lives won acceptance , acclaim , and wealth . The Macchiaioli have always been acclaimed in their native land , but here in the United States they enjoy none of their French colleagues ’ wild popularity . Their last major exhibition in this country was at a Los Angeles gallery in 1986 .
It may be high time for another one , this time in a major American museum . It ’ s an accepted fact that American art lovers always flock to shows of the Pre-Raphaelites and the Impressionists . Maybe it ’ s time they were introduced to the Nazarenes and the Macchiaioli . They ’ re not as famous , but they ’ re not as familiar , either .
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