Raffaello Sernesi (December 25, 1838 – August 9, 1866) was an Italian painter and medallist 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 to ...

group.

He was born in

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 an ...

in modest circumstances. After an apprenticeship to a local engraver, he enrolled at the Accademia of Florence in 1856, where he studied under

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, ...

.Steingräber & Matteucci 1984, p. 114. As part of his training he made copies of the works of

quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

artists such as

Masaccio Masaccio (, , ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, ...

and

Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), known as Sandro Botticelli (, ), was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 19th century, when he was rediscovered ...

.Broude 1987, p. 78. In 1858 his father died, and Sernesi left the Academy in order to help support his family as an engraver and medallist. In 1859 he began frequenting the

Caffè Michelangiolo Caffè Michelangiolo was a historic café in Florence, located in Via Larga (now renamed Via Cavour). During the nineteenth century Wars of Italian Independence, it became a major meeting place for Tuscan writers and artists, and for patriots and ...

and met the artists of the Macchiaioli, including

Odoardo Borrani Odoardo Borrani (22 August 1833 – 14 September 1905) was an Italian painter associated with the Macchiaioli group. Biography He was born in Pisa. The Borrani family moved to Florence, where Odoardo enrolled at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1853. ...

, who became a close friend. Sernesi served as a volunteer in the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...

in 1859. Upon his return to Florence later that year, he made his first

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

landscape paintings.Broude 1987, p. 79.

Norma Broude Norma Broude (born 1 May 1941) is an American art historian and scholar of feminism and 19th-century French and Italian painting. She is also a Professor Emerita of art history from American University. Broude, with Mary Garrard, is an early lead ...

says these works are characterized by "the azure and terracotta hues typical both of Tuscany's landscape and its fresco tradition" and says they reveal "a taste for rectilinear clarity in spatial and compositional organization". Sernesi exhibited his painting ''Pastura in montagna'' ("Mountain Pastures") at the Brera National Exhibition in 1861 and at the Florentine Promotrice in 1862. In 1862 he traveled to Naples and later to

Ischia Ischia ( , , ) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It lies at the northern end of the Gulf of Naples, about from Naples. It is the largest of the Phlegrean Islands. Roughly trapezoidal in shape, it measures approximately east to west ...

. He exhibited two paintings at the Milan exhibition in 1865. In 1866 he joined

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

's campaign in the

Third Italian War of Independence The Third Italian War of Independence ( it, Terza Guerra d'Indipendenza Italiana) was a war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Austrian Empire fought between June and August 1866. The conflict paralleled the Austro-Prussian War and resulted in ...

. On July 16 he suffered a serious wound to the leg and was taken prisoner by the Austrians. He was taken to Bolzano for treatment, but his reluctance to have his leg amputated led to his death from

gangrene Gangrene is a type of tissue death caused by a lack of blood supply. Symptoms may include a change in skin color to red or black, numbness, swelling, pain, skin breakdown, and coolness. The feet and hands are most commonly affected. If the ga ...

on August 9, 1866.

Notes

References

* Broude, Norma (1987). ''The Macchiaioli: Italian Painters of the Nineteenth Century''. New Haven and London:

Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...

. *Steingräber, Erich, & Matteucci, Giuliano (1984). ''The Macchiaioli: Tuscan Painters of the Sunlight : March 14 – April 20, 1984''. New York: Stair Sainty Matthiesen in association with Matthiesen, London. 1838 births 1866 deaths Painters from Florence 19th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze alumni 19th-century Italian male artists {{Italy-painter-19thC-stub