Egisto Ferroni (14 December 1835,

Lastra a Signa Lastra a Signa is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the metropolitan city of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about west of Florence. Main sights *Hospital of Sant'Antonio (1411) *" Brunelleschi" Walls, although the attribution to th ...

– 25 May 1912,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

) was an Italian painter, specializing in pastoral, rural, and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

subjects.

Life and work

His father, Egiziano, was a Master

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, ...

. He had originally intended to follow him into the trade, but later chose to study at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze ("academy of fine arts of Florence") is an instructional art academy in Florence, in Tuscany, in central Italy. It was founded by Cosimo I de' Medici in 1563, under the influence of Giorgio Vasar ...

, where his instructors included

Enrico Pollastrini Enrico Pollastrini (15 June 1817, Livorno – 19 January 1876, Florence) was an Italian history painter and art school director. Life and work He began his training as an assistant in the workshop of a local artist named Vincenzo De Bonis. In 1 ...

Stefano Ussi Stefano Ussi (3 September 1822 - 1901) was an Italian painter, known first for his history paintings, and later for depicting Orientalist, mostly Arabian and Moroccan subjects. Biography He was born in Florence and studied there at the Academy o ...

and

Antonio Ciseri Antonio Ciseri (25 October 1821 – 8 March 1891) was a Swiss-Italian painter of religious subjects. Biography He was born in Ronco sopra Ascona, Switzerland. He went to Florence in 1833 to study drawing with Ernesto Bonaiuti. Within a year, ...

. His early paintings were on historical subjects. His first work of any note was created in 1868; a painting called "Le trecciaiole" (The Braiders), which he presented at the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. It made a critical impression as its monumental size was atypical for genre works of that nature. In general, his figures were portrayed in a severe, realistic manner, which brought him into conflict with his agent, Luigi Pisani, who wanted scenes that were more "polite". Fortunately, he was able to find a wealthy patron, Gioacchino Herts, Count of Frassineto, who supported him for over twenty years. In 1878, he presented two works at the

Exposition Universelle Exposition (also the French for exhibition) may refer to: *Universal exposition or World's Fair *Expository writing **Exposition (narrative) *Exposition (music) *Trade fair * ''Exposition'' (album), the debut album by the band Wax on Radio *Exposi ...

in Paris. He also participated in the International Exposition at Rome in 1883, where his works were featured with those by

Giovanni Fattori Giovanni Fattori (September 6, 1825August 30, 1908) was an Italian artist, one of the leaders of the group known as the Macchiaioli. He was initially a painter of historical themes and military subjects. In his middle years, inspired by the Barb ...

Eugenio Cecconi Eugenio Cecconi (September 8, 1842 – December 19, 1903) was an Italian painter. He is most noted for his paintings of hunting scenes and the Italian countryside, however his work also includes many representations of Oriental themes. Early lif ...

, and other members of the

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 to ...

. His career was interrupted by a long spell of depression, brought on by the death of his son, Raffaele, in 1891. He had recovered by 1897, and was invited to participate in the

Biennale di Venezia The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

. He preferred to spend time alone in the countryside, out of the limelight. Despite this, he managed to amass a considerable fortune. He died at the home of his son, Arrigo, with whom he had lived since 1908. Within two decades of his death, his work was largely forgotten.

Sources

Biography
from the ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' @

Treccani The ''Enciclopedia Italiana di Scienze, Lettere e Arti'' ( Italian for "Italian Encyclopedia of Science, Letters, and Arts"), best known as ''Treccani'' for its developer Giovanni Treccani or ''Enciclopedia Italiana'', is an Italian-language ...

* Andrea Baldinotti and Vincenzo Farinella, ''Pittura dei campi. Egisto Ferroni e il naturalismo europeo'', Torino, Umberto Allemandi editore, 2002

External links

Biography
@ the Istituto Matteucci
Brief biography
@ the Società di Belle Arti
More works by Ferroni
@ ArtNet {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferroni, Egisto 1835 births 1912 deaths People from Lastra a Signa 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male artists Italian landscape painters Painters from Venice Painters from Bologna Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze alumni 19th-century Italian male artists