Giuseppe Abbati of the Macchiaioli

Giuseppe Abbati - Cloister - 1861-62 - Oil on cardboard, 19 x 25 cm - Galleria dell'Arte Moderna, Palazzo Pitti, Florence (click photo for larger image)Italian painter Giuseppe Abbati (1836-1868) belonged to the group known as the Macchiaioli—who revolted against academic painting. Abbati was born in Naples and received early training in painting from his brother Vincenzo. He participated in Garibaldi's 1860 campaign, suffering the loss of his right eye at the Battle of Capua. Afterwards he moved to Florence where, at the Caffe Michelangiolo, he met Giovanni Fattori, Silvestro Lega, and the rest of the artists who would soon be dubbed the Macchiaioli. Abbati painted in the cloisters of Santa Croce in Florence in 1861-62 while the monument was being restored. Numerous black and white marble blocks were strewn around the grounds, offering clear-cut shapes and sharp, elementary contrasts. Beyond the empty foreground, a row of stones is placed against the shaded walkway of the cloisters, with only the figure of a worker or stonemason as a living element in this rather abstract composition.

IMAGE 5: Giuseppe Abbati - Cloister - 1861-62 - Oil on cardboard, 19 x 25 cm - Galleria dell'Arte Moderna, Palazzo Pitti, Florence

Italian Art; Italian avant’garde