Telemaco Signorini: Spokesman of the Macchiaioli

• Main Author: Morgan, Christine Elizabeth
• Other Authors: Savage, Matthew
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: LSU 2010
• Subjects: Art
• Online Access: http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11162010-204916/

Telemaco Signorini was a member of a nineteenth-century Italian group of artists called the Macchiaioli. He was the son of Giovanni Signorini, a painter. The group came together against the Italian academies and drew inspiration from Decamps and the artists of the Barbizon school in France. Their style emphasizes effect and emotion. The Macchiaioli were a short lived group that only lasted from 1855 to 1862. Signorini and the members of the group participated in 1859 in the Risorgimento, the Italian struggle for independence. Based on this experience Signorini created several canvases depicting the Italian countryside, especially at La Spezia. He was also devoted to literature and in his essays he defended the Macchiaioli on several occasions. After the Macchia had been declared dead by Signorini, he traveled extensively to London and Paris. During these travels, Signorini succumbed to the popular influences of photography and Japanese prints. He began to travel in Italy exclusively beginning in 1884 and continued painting, using a mix of inspirations he had gathered throughout his life, until his death in 1901. This thesis is a comprehensive study of Signorini.