Background

Niccolò Cannicci was born on October 29, 1846 in Florence, Italy. Niccolò was first introduced to painting by his father, painter Gaetano Cannicci.

Education

From 1862 to 1865 Niccolò Cannicci studied design at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence under professors Marrubini and Pollastrini, and from there moved to the studio of professor Antonio Ciseri.

Career

After 1868, Cannicci moved to San Gemignano due to health problems. It was there that his personal style as a painter began to coalesce from his undeniable academic training in combination with his natural inclination towards observing nature. Cannicci painted mainly landscapes and genre paintings of peasant life and animals. His work was influenced by the school of the Macchiaioli.

In 1875 he visited Paris with his best friend Francesco Gioli, along with Giovanni Fattori and Egisto Ferroni.

At the end of 1891 he was admitted to Siena’s psychiatric hospital for a long period of time. Once he recovered, in 1893, he chose to live in Montemuccioli, near Volterra, where his friends came to see him frequently. He visited Diego Martelli in Castiglioncello and Francesco Gioli in Fauglia. In these years he painted his “Album con i ritratti dei malati di mente” (Sketchbook of portraits of mental patients) and numerous works that emphasize his preference for solitude and contemplation.

It is also known that Cannicci's patron was Renato Fucini, an Italian writer and poet.

Niccolò Cannicci died on January 19, 1906, in Florence, Italy.

Achievements

• In 1889 Cannicci was called as one of the Tuscan artists invited to the Universal Exhibition in Paris, where he received an award for his painting “Ritorno da una festa” (Coming back from a celebration).

Works

More photos

• painting

  • Shepherd with flock

  • In vista di San Gimignano

  • Ritorno dai campi (Primavera)

  • Summer

  • A Shell

  • La mamma delle oche

  • Pastorelle che filano

  • Inverno triste, firmato

  • Le gramignaie al fiume

  • A mother and son seated by a wall before the sea

  • Il passo della Futa

  • Riposo nei campi

  • Pastorelli con gregge

  • Bimba tra le rose

  • In inverno firmato

  • Capanno

  • Paesaggio

  • Autunno: si bruciano le stoppie

Connections

Father:

Gaetano Cannicci

Gaetano Cannicci had a house in S. Gimignano.

teacher:

Giuseppe Marrubini

teacher:

Enrico Pollastrini

teacher:

Antonio Ciseri

Friend:

Francesco Gioli

Friend:

Giovanni Fattori

Friend:

Egisto Ferroni

Friend:

Diego Martelli

patron:

Renato Fucini