“The stain is the solidity of the bodies in front of the light”
Giovanni Fattori
We are in the middle of the nineteenth century when a real pictorial revolution comes: the Macchiaioli!
The real term, Macchiaioli, was coined by the Gazzetta del Popolo only in 1862 to define an anti-academic and realistic renewal of the Italian painting. Obviously, it is initially used in a derogatory way playing on the double sense of the word “stain” which can mean to act stealthily and illegally.
To the technique of the Venetian master Tiziano, the Macchiaioli add an innovative meaning making it a perfect representation of contemporary reality, a readjustment of his painting through the rejection of the academicism. Giorgio Vasari, in fact, speaks of the works of Tiziano as “carry out of blows, pulled away heavily, and with spots of manner, that you cannot see so closely, and far away appear perfect”. At the end the stain is a clear portion of color correctly matched that translates the everyday life into innovative images.
The Caffè Michelangiolo, in the historic center of Firenze, in 1855 is the arrival point for young artists ready to renew the figurative language in an emotionally involved way telling the values of man, his strength and his daily courage. The spirit of the Macchiaioli is certainly of independence, revolutionary, patriotic, with the desire to start every day in spite of every difficulty: a new aesthetic that put man, reality and nature at the center.
From the 24th of October 2020 to the 18th of April 2021 the prestigious Palazzo Zabarella in Padova will revive the world of these artists in the eyes of all of us visitors, but not only: you can also “meet” their friends and supporters who took part in this visual revolution, without receiving the appropriate recognition. Colleagues painters, friends patrons, less known collectors, but not for this less significant.
All this is possible thanks to the careful researches of Giuliano Matteucci and Fernando Mazzocca who see, in this exhibition, an important cultural renewal for our city, for our country. Full of vital emotions and strong of a powerful soul that contrasts death, the “macchiaiolo” is synonymous of life: macchiaioli yesterday, macchiaioli today. The man of yesterday, like the man of today, full of dreams and able to fully grasp life, in a heroic way.
The AbanoRitz, a few kilometers from Padova, dedicates a special rate to the guests who want to take advantage of this exhibition. The offer “Just Relax & Events” gives you a stay for 2 people in a Double Elegant Room with breakfast and access to our thermal pools, at the price of Euro 129.00 per night; in addition, there is a 10% discount to our restaurants and wellness center. What are you waiting for?
