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Dimensions: 17.5 by 12 cm., 6 7/8 by 4 3/4 in.
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Provenance: PROPERTY OF A BRITISH PRIVATE COLLECTOR
Possibly Mr Zicwolff (purchased 1874)
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Notes: The present work depicts the 11th-12th Century Castello Guidi in Vinci, a small town not far from Florence, which now houses the Leonardo da Vinci Museum. Signorini is known to have travelled to Vinci in 1872, however it is likely that he visited the town again the following year, as suggested by the date of the painting. This work is typical of the small macchie ('sketches') that were embraced by the Macchiaioli as the cornerstone of their art.
The name Macchiaioli was first applied as a derogatory term by a hostile critic in 1862 and derived from the word macchia, meaning mark, stain or sketch. It referred to the element of 'effect', namely in the distribution of light and shadow, in the work of a group of Italian artists based in Florence. This new movement, which had developed from a dissatisfaction with the official academic studio practices, notably in the 'finish' and the lack of solidity and chiaroscuro in the art of the day, began in 1855. By 1862, this had given way to a greater emphasis on tonal relationships, although the group remained united by a fascination with natural effects of light and shadow. Signorini commented in 1874 that 'the macchia [...] was nothing more than violent chiaroscuro [and] around 1862, this artistic research, which had had its time, died without honour of burial' (Telemaco Signorini, 'Cose d'arte', Il Risorgimento, 1874).
It is possible that this work is a painting mentioned in Signorini's memoirs called Strada a Vinci, which was bought by Mr Zicwolff in 1874.
