Silvestro Lega
Encyclopedia
Silvestro Lega was an Italian
realist painter. He was one of the leading artists of the Macchiaioli
and was also involved with the Mazzini movement.
Lega was born in Modigliana
, near Forlì
, to an affluent family. From 1843 to 1847 he attended the Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence, studying drawing under Benedetto Servolini (1805–79) and Tommaso Gazzarini (1790–1853), then studying painting, briefly, under Giuseppe Bezzuoli. During 1847 he attended Luigi Mussini’s school, where the teaching emphasized the 15th-century Florentine
principles of drawing and orderly construction. Then and for some years afterwards he continued to attend the Scuola del Nudo of the Accademia.
As a Garibaldian volunteer, Lega participated in the military campaigns for Italian independence (1848–9) before resuming his training, this time under Antonio Ciseri
, completing his first large-scale painting, Doubting Thomas (1850; Modigliana, Osp. Civ.). In 1852 he won the Concorso Trienniale dell’Accademia with David Placating Saul.
He died in Florence
in 1895 of stomach cancer.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
realist painter. He was one of the leading artists of the Macchiaioli
Macchiaioli
The Macchiaioli were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century, who, breaking with the antiquated conventions taught by the Italian academies of art, did much of their painting outdoors in order to capture natural light, shade, and colour...
and was also involved with the Mazzini movement.
Biography
Modigliana
Modigliana is a comune in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about 50 km southeast of Bologna and about 20 km southwest of Forlì....
, near Forlì
Forlì
Forlì is a comune and city in Emilia-Romagna, Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the right of the Montone river, and is an important agricultural centre...
, to an affluent family. From 1843 to 1847 he attended the Accademia di Belle Arti, Florence, studying drawing under Benedetto Servolini (1805–79) and Tommaso Gazzarini (1790–1853), then studying painting, briefly, under Giuseppe Bezzuoli. During 1847 he attended Luigi Mussini’s school, where the teaching emphasized the 15th-century Florentine
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
principles of drawing and orderly construction. Then and for some years afterwards he continued to attend the Scuola del Nudo of the Accademia.
As a Garibaldian volunteer, Lega participated in the military campaigns for Italian independence (1848–9) before resuming his training, this time under Antonio Ciseri
Antonio Ciseri
Antonio Ciseri was an Italian painter of religious subjects....
, completing his first large-scale painting, Doubting Thomas (1850; Modigliana, Osp. Civ.). In 1852 he won the Concorso Trienniale dell’Accademia with David Placating Saul.
He died in Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
in 1895 of stomach cancer.
Partial list of works
- Il sacro cuore di Gesù, oil painting
- La casa di don Giovanni Verità, 1855, oil on canvas, 37 x 28, LivornoLivornoLivorno , traditionally Leghorn , is a port city on the Tyrrhenian Sea on the western edge of Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of approximately 160,000 residents in 2009.- History :...
, museum Civico - Episodio della guerra del 1859 - Ritorno di bersaglieri italiani da una ricognizione, 1861, oil on canvas, 57,5 x 95, Florence, Art-Modern gallery, Palazzo PittiPalazzo PittiThe Palazzo Pitti , in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio...
- Ritratto di Giuseppe Garibaldi, 1861, oil on canvas, 111 x 78,4, Private collection
- Tra i fiori del giardino, 1862, oil on canvas, 49 x 59, Private collection
- Il primo dolore, 1863, oil on canvas, 39,5 x 50, GenoaGenoaGenoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Provincial Palace - L’educazione al lavoro, 1863, oil painting, 87 x 65, Hotel Montecatini Terme, TuscanyTuscanyTuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
, Private collection - L’elemosina, 1864, oil on canvas, 71,8 x 124, Private collection
- La nonna, 1865, oil on canvas, 59 x 70, Private collection
- Due bambine che fanno le signore - Divertimento infantile, 1865, oil on canvas, 57,5 x 94, Private collection
- Il canto di uno stornello, 1867, oil on canvas, 158 x 98, Florance, Art-Modern Gallery, Pitti Palace
- Un dopo pranzo, 1868, oil on canvas, 75 x 93,5, MilanMilanMilan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, Pinacoteca di Brera - La visita, 1868, oil on canvas on wood panel, 31 x 60, RomeRomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, National Art-Modern Galery - I promessi sposi, 1869, oil on canvas, 33,5 x 77, Milan, Museum of Science of Leonardo da Vinci
- La lettura, oil on paper laid down on wood, BariBariBari is the capital city of the province of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, in Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples, and is well known as a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas...
, Provincial art-Gallery - Donna con edera, oil on board, Genoa Nervi, Raccolte Frugone Gallery
- Una madre, 1884, oil on canvas, 191 x 124, Private collection
- Gabbrigiana in piedi, 1888, oil on canvas, 140 x 86, Private collection
- Pagliai al sole, oil on board, 28 x 38, ca 1890, PiacenzaPiacenzaPiacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
, Gallery Ricci Oddi