Achille Lega (21 April 1899 – 28 January 1934) was an Italian painter. His early work was in the

futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...

style and he later became a

cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...

. Lega was born in

Brisighella Brisighella () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of Ravenna, region of Emilia-Romagna, in Northeast Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). Brisighella borders the following municipal ...

but lived in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

from the age of ten. He first studied painting with

Ludovico Tommasi Ludovico Tommasi (1866 in Livorno – 1941 in Florence) was an Italian painter. Biography Inspired by the example of his elder brother Angiolo Tommasi, Angiolo and his cousin Adolfo Tommasi, Adolfo, Ludovico Tommasi devoted himself to painting, d ...

, who belonged to the Postmacchiaioli movement. In 1914, he enrolled into the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

but abandoned the studies after two years. Lega's first notable painting, ''The Pier of Livorno'', was produced in 1914 under the influence of Tommasi, however, it went well beyond emulating the style of Tommasi. In July 1915, Lega was invited to participate in a collective art exhibition in

Pistoia Pistoia (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Tuscany, the capital of a province of the same name, located about north-west of Florence and is crossed by the Ombrone Pistoiese, a tributary of the River Arno. It is a typic ...

. In subsequent years, he was interested in such subjects as rural life, painting in a strongly simplified manner. In the 1910s, he was a regular customer of cafe Giubbe rosse in Florence, where, in particular, he met with

futurists Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futures studies or futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities ...

including Ardengo Soffici,

Umberto Boccioni Umberto Boccioni (; ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...

, and

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye de ...

who influenced his art. He became friends with Ottone Rosai and remained close to Rosai until his death. Between 1916 and 1919, Lega was mainly under the influence of Soffici, following futurist trends but remaining within figurative art. In 1918, Lega was drafted as a soldier and for a short time was posted in

Carrara Carrara ( ; ; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in Tuscany, in central Italy, of the province of Massa and Carrara, and notable for the white or blue-grey Carrara marble, marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some Boxing the compass, ...

. Starting from 1919, for several years he participated in yearly Grand Futurist Exhibitions organized by Marinetti in

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. On 15 November 1922, Lega's first personal exhibition was opened in Florence. Between 1926 and 1933, Lega collaborated with the biweekly magazine ''

Il Selvaggio ''Il Selvaggio'' (Italian: ''the Savage'' or ''the Wild One'') was a political and arts magazine that existed between 1924 and 1943. It was a media outlet of an intellectual group called Strapaese (Italian: Supervillage). History and profile ''I ...

'', not only providing illustrations, but sometimes writing articles. Between 1926 and 1929 he exhibited in Milan with the ''

Novecento Italiano Novecento Italiano () was an Italian artistic movement founded in Milan in 1922 to create an art based on the rhetoric of the fascism of Benito Mussolini, Mussolini. History Novecento Italiano was founded by Anselmo Bucci (1887–1955), Leonardo ...

'' art movement, which also included

Mario Sironi Mario Sironi (May 12, 1885 – August 13, 1961) was an Italian Modernism, Modernist artist who was active as a painter, sculptor, illustrator, and designer. His typically somber paintings are characterized by massive, immobile forms. Biography ...

, Achille Funi, and

Gian Emilio Malerba Gian Emilio Malerba (1880–1926) was an Italian painter and illustrator, one of the founders of the Novecento Italiano in Milan. He initially created works in a ''Liberty'' or Art Nouveau style. Biography Malerba was born in Milan and studied at ...

. In this period, he also changed his style, preferring simplified geometrical forms. Between 1928 and 1934, Lega exhibited at the Biennale in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

. He died in Florence on 28 January 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lega, Achille 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists Italian male painters 1899 births 1934 deaths People from Brisighella