
Luigi Bechi (March 1830 – November 19, 1919) was an Italian
genre
Genre () is any style or form 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 fo ...
painter; associated with 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 ...
.
Life and work
He was born 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 ...
. He initially studied art at the
Accademia di Belle Arti
This is a list of the tertiary-level schools or academies of fine art in Italy that are recognised by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca, the Italian ministry of higher education.
Accademie di Belle Arti
The of ...
with
Giuseppe Bezzuoli
Giuseppe Bezzuoli (28 November 1784 – 13 September 1855) was an Italian painter of the Neoclassical and Romantic periods.
Biography
He was born to Luigi Bazzuoli, a farmer, and his wife Anna, née Banchieri. Later, he changed the spelling of ...
and
Enrico Pollastrini. As an Italian patriot, he interrupted his education to join the
Piedmontese Army as an artilleryman and fight in the
Second Italian War of Independence
The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...
, against the Austrians.
He made his public debut in 1861, at the , with his depiction of
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
, watching over Urbino, his dying servant. In 1866, he once again fought for Italian independence, joining
Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...
in
Trentino
Trentino (), officially the Autonomous Province of Trento (; ; ), is an Autonomous province#Italy, autonomous province of Italy in the Northern Italy, country's far north. Trentino and South Tyrol constitute the Regions of Italy, region of Tren ...
. He was wounded and taken prisoner in the
Battle of Bezzecca.
In 1870, he was able to obtain a position as Professor at the Accademia. While he cultivated historical paintings, he also painted landscapes, pastoral scenes, and genre paintings, which were his most popular. During his professorship, his works became more generic and conventional. Among his best known works are scenes of
Hagar
According to the Book of Genesis, Hagar is an Egyptian slave, a handmaiden of Sarah (then known as ''Sarai''), whom Sarah gave to her own husband Abram (later renamed Abraham) as a wife to bear him a child. Abraham's firstborn son, through Haga ...
being banished by
Abraham
Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
, and General , being saved by the Marchese Fadini at the
Battle of Montebello.
''Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti.''
by Angelo de Gubernatis. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 44.
After his retirement, he spent his final years in solitude. He died in Florence; aged eighty-nine. His works continued to be popular with British and German collectors, long after he had been forgotten in Italy.
References
Further reading
* Silvestra Bietoletti, ''I macchiaioli: la storia, gli artisti, le opere'', Giunti, 2001
External links
Biography
from the ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'' @ Treccani
Institute Giovanni Treccani for the publication of the Italian Encyclopedia (), also known as Treccani Institute or simply Treccani, is a cultural institution of national interest, active in the publishing field, founded by Giovanni Treccani ...
Biographies
@ De Artibus
More works by Bechi
@ ArtNet
1830 births
1919 deaths
19th-century Italian painters
19th-century Italian male artists
Italian male painters
Painters from Florence
Italian genre painters
20th-century Italian painters
20th-century Italian male artists
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