Fattori, Giovanni

Giovanni Fattori was introduced to art by Giuseppe Baldini. In 1846 he attended the Fine Art Academy and studied under Bezzuoli. After the war of 1848-49, during which time he was unable to devote himself to painting, he returned to work from real life, adopting in particular scenes from military life as his subjects. After 1859, under the guidance of Nino Costa, his artistic activity intensified. In 1861 he won a national competition with the painting Dopo la battaglia di Magenta. This extremely successful work was followed by a further three or four equally important paintings in the same genre. In 1875 Fattori travelled to Paris where he came in contact with the works of Manet, although this had no significant influence on his art, which by then was fully developed. In 1886 he obtained the chair in landscape painting at the Fine Art Academy in Florence, where he had already held a temporary teaching post since 1869.