S ilvestro L ega
Modigliana 1826 - Florence 1895
37. Portait of a young woman, 1890-92
pastel chalks on paper
570 x 420 mm
Signed lower right: S. Lega
Provenance:
Florence, Alberto Bertini; Florence, Giuseppe Rousseau Colzi; Florence, Private Collection.
Exhibited:
The Macchiaioli in the Neinteenth Century European Culture, Studio Paul Nicholls, Florence Casa d’Arte Pitti,
September 21 st – October 11 th , 1987, n. 35.
Literature:
G.Matteucci, Lega. L’Opera Completa, Florence, Giunti, 1987, vol. II, p.327, n. 405.
Silvestro Lega was born in Modigliana in 1826. He soon left his home town to move to Florence in order to attend
the Academia of Belle Arti. He was first student of Pallastrini, and then apprentice of Mussini and Ciseri, besides he
also remained attached to his masters’ academic maniera. At a later stage, the painter got closer to the Macchiaoli’s
circle, a bond that lead to the artistic maturity of his painting. Together with Signorini, Abbati, Borrani and Sernesi
he belongs to the Pergentina group, so called from a small town in the Florentine surroundings. Despite his contact
with the Macchiaioli, Lega’s works preserved a primitive naivety and a delicate style with a more romantic mark until
1870. Nevertheless, after such date, the inspiration and style of the artist became more impetuous and dramatic with
accentuated contrasts of light and shadows. The images were performed more rapidly and synthetically, whereas
moods were interpreted though more direct and instantaneous expressions.
The portraiture genre acquired a fundamental role in the painter’s maturity. At the end of the Eighties, the artist
was guest of the Bandini family at Villa Poggio Piano in Gabbro. In this period he painted several portraits
representing “gabbrigiane”, or rather young women and peasants of the surrounding countryside. The feminine
face became one of the main research topics. The oeuvres conceived at Gabbro, in which the subjects are translated
in pure pretexts and not in folkloristic themes, Lega found a renewed artistic impulse mainly based on the
chromatic multiplicity.
The Bust of young woman is part of the portraits series painted during these years. The peasants were usually depicted
until their shoulders or bust, either front or profile, with the handkerchief on their head or – like in this case – a rich
head of messy hair increasing the woman’s wild look. The stroke became more rapid and vibrant, whereas the use of
crayon provoked a chromatic effect permeated of light, generally extraneous to oil portraits.
A reference to analogous works has to be established in order to estimate a dating for the drawing under examination,
for instance: La Capricciosa (cfr. Matteucci 1987, n. 370); Profilo di donna con scialle (cfr. Matteucci, Sisi 1995, n.
39); Gabbigiana (cfr. Matteucci 1987, n. 378), all dated around 1890-92. The comparison is suggested by the strong
physiognomic resemblance between the Bust of young woman and the young girls of the above-mentioned portraits,
revealed by the slightly french nose, the small but fleshly mouth, the round chin and the black curly hair. An
additional element implying that the drawing belongs to these years is the pictorial technique – that is the crayon.
The first Lega’s crayon drawings date back to the 1890, and all of these works were depicted during the stay in
Gabbro (cfr. Matteucci 1987, n. 405, 410, 411, 420, 421). As a matter fact, in a letter written to the friend Ludovico
Tommasi, the artist mentioned some crayons realized exactly in this same period (cfr. Matteucci 1987, p. 336).
(CC)