Background
Fattori was born in Livorno, Italy, on September 6, 1825.
Florence, Toscana, Italy
Fattori studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze.
Fattori was born in Livorno, Italy, on September 6, 1825.
Giovanni Fattori, when he was very young, studied in the studio of Giuseppe Baldini, an artist from Leghorn. In 1846 he moved to Florence and chose to study at the school of Giuseppe Bezzuoli. He soon left it and transferred to the Accademia di Belle Arti, but did not attend it regularly as his energies were directed to reading the historical novels (especially those with medieval themes) of such authors as Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi, Ugo Foscolo and Walter Scott.
Between 1848 and 1849 Giovanni Fattori neglected his painting and, although he did not take an active part in the war for independence, Fattori was involved in distributing secret publications in Tuscany. However, in 1850 he resumed his studies at the Accademia in Florence.
Fattori's development to maturity as a painter was unusually slow. In 1855 he took part for the first time in the Promotrice Fiorentina with the work Ildegonda, inspired by the short novel by Tommaso Grossi. Around 1857 Enrico Pollastrini introduced him to the style of Ingres. This had some impact on Fattori's historical paintings. He worked on his art piece entitled Maria Stuarda between 1858 and 1860. This work was based on his reading of Walter Scott.
In 1859 the artist returned to realism, painting small-scale scenes of military life that were admired by the Roman artist Nino Costa. He encouraged Fattori to apply his innovative studies of colour and light to painting "en plein air", turning his back on history painting. Giovanni Fattori became a member of the Macchiaioli, a group of Tuscan painters whose methods and aims were similar to those of the Impressionists. The followers of the group were criticized for their paintings' lack of decorative qualities and conventional finish, although the Macchiaioli did not go as far as the Impressionists did in dissolving form in light.
His artistic career took off in these years: in 1861 he took part in the Ricasoli competition with the painting Dopo la battaglia di Magenta (After the Battle of Magenta); in 1864 he exhibited four works at the Promotrice. In the meantime, he decided to return to the town where he was born to nurse his wife who had tuberculosis. Some prominent portraits belong to this period such as that of his sister-in-law and his cousin Argia.
Fattori worked on military themes right up to the end of the 1860s when he decided to concentrate on landscape painting, in 1866 he painted the lovely Rotonda di Palmieri (Palmieri’s round terrace). In 1867, following the death of his wife, Giovanni Fattori stayed with Diego Martelli at Castiglioncello, where he worked very hard. In 1869 he was appointed a teacher at the Accademia di Firenze. In the year 1872, the artist went to Rome and in 1875 to Paris with Francesco Gioli, Ferroni and Niccolò Cannicci.
In the 1880s Giovanni Fattori became particularly interested in rural themes especially herds of cattle, horses and the Maremma cowherds. Although his artworks were respected and admired by his colleagues and friends, who remained constant to the end, on account of his shyness and diffidence, it was kept far from the recognition of the public at large.
Frau Martelli in Castiglioncello
Sonnenuntergang am Meer
Dame im Freien sitzend
Der graue Tag (Strand mit Fischern und Booten)
Lady with a Fan
Bleifarbenes Meer
Bauer mit Ochsenkarren
Cowboys and Herds in the Maremma
Porträt der dritten Ehefrau
Nonne mit Esel
Bauer mit zusammengebrochenem Pferd
Zwei Damen im Garten von Castiglioncello
Strasse am Ufer des Meeres
Berittener Hirte und Kühe
Dame im Wald
Der Heuhaufen
Quadrato di Villafranca or Esercitazione di Tiro
L'Arno presso Bellariva
Carri romani
Der Schindanger in Livorno
Self-portrait
La Rotonda di Palmieri
Pferd vor einem Wagen
Die Baumallee mit zwei Kindern
Porträt der Cousine des Künstlers
Storming of the Madonna della Scoperta
Pause in the Maremma with farmers and ox-cart
Gehöft in den Hügeln
Der Turm von Magnale
Prince Amadeo Feritio at Custoza
Silvestro Lega, nella pittura di Riva al Mare
Heuschober
Die roten Fässer
Hay Stacks
Fattori had a habit to note all his observations in small notebooks that he always kept with him, creating innumerable sketches. Some of the artist's later etchings were based on these observations.