Renato Natali (10 May 1883 – 7 March 1979) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

painter, member of the post-

Macchiaioli The Macchiaioli () were a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the nineteenth century. They strayed from antiquated conventions taught by the Italian art academies, and did much of their painting outdoors in order ...

group of painters in

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

during the first half of the 20th century. He often painted proletarian neighborhoods of the industrial port city of Livorno, as well as genre and cabaret scenes.

Biography

He was born in Livorno. He did not attend a formal academy, although he was said to have learned from Guglielmo Micheli, and was a member of the Gruppo Labronico of painters that met in the

Caffè Bardi The former Caffè Bardi was a notable coffee house and meeting place in the 19th through mid-20th century for artists and intellectuals in Livorno, a region of Tuscany, Italy. The coffee-house no longer exists and stood at the corner of via Cairoli ...

in Livorno. He provided some of the decorations for the establishment. He travelled to Paris for two years in 1912, but is said to have ''fallen in love with Livorno while in Paris''. In Paris, he encountered the vibrant bohemian circles of artists, including

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...

, and the works of Toulouse Lautrec. He participated in many exhibitions including the Venice Biennale, as well as exhibitions in the exterior, including Brighton (England), Minnesota (USA), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Cairo (Egypt) and Athens (Greece). In addition to painting, he practiced

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design on a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a Burin (engraving), burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or Glass engraving, glass ar ...

etching Etching is traditionally the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal. In modern manufacturing, other chemicals may be used on other type ...

, and

lithography Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the miscibility, immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by ...

. In 1978, he was awarded the honour of Commendatore al Merito dalla Repubblica. In 1980, Livorno sponsored a retrospective of his work. A "Mostra Antologica Renato Natali" was organized in 1968 by the Casa Comunale della Cultura a Livorno, and curated by Piero Caprile with a monograph by Aldo Santini. Among the titles of his works are: ''Dramma'', ''Rissa'', ''Ombra'', ''Chiacchiera'', ''Ombre e Luci'', ''Veglione'', ''Mascherata'', ''Sera estiva'', ''Musica Rusticana'', ''Rotonda'', ''Via dei Mulini a Vento'', ''Voltina'', ''Lazzeretto di Ardenza'', and ''Baruffa''Arte Livorno biography.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natali Renato 1883 births 1979 deaths Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters Painters from Livorno 20th-century Italian male artists