Eugenio Zampighis first entered the Modena Academy at the surprisingly young age of thirteen. Like so many northern Italian communities, Modena's cultural sophistication had its roots in the medieval university. Eugenio Zampighi's admission to the Academy's prestigious art school meant that he received a classical education, where he settled on a focus on the art of ancient Rome and the Renaissance. At graduation, he passed his exams with first class honors and was awarded a scholarship to study in Rome. At the end of his scholarship, Eugenio Zampighi spent time in Florence. His interests lay in genre painting rather than landscapes to depict the lives of ordinary people. Like the realists in France, the Macchiaioli hoped to convey a sense of immediacy about the conditions of working people as well as the poor. The search for a cultural and national identity in the visual arts was inseparable from the ideals of the Risorgimento, and although little is known about Eugenio Zampighi's political views, there is no doubt that he supported the resurgence of Italian leadership in art. After a year of study in Florence, heavily influenced by the Renaissance heritage and the contemporary Macchiaioli, Eugenio Zampighi decided to settle there. Eugenio Zampighis subjects ranged from home furnishings to leisure activities to celebrations with family. The modest paintings appeal to a middle-class art market and were sold primarily through dealers in art in Florence. In addition, his paintings were equally successful with British and American art collectors.
During his Florentine years, Eugenio Zampighi also created a large painting for the Academy of Modena. Based on a poem by Giacomo Leopardi, one of the most respected Italian writers of the 19th century, the painting was very popular and eventually earned him the honorary title of Professor of the Academy. More typical, however, were paintings such as A New Friend, which depicts a young mother holding her baby while an older man hands the child a toy monkey. The scene itself is not particularly remarkable, but the figures demand the viewer's attention because they seem so completely caught up in the moment, as if a camera had simply captured a candid family scene. Part of this immediacy stems from the use of maquis or patches of light and dark used to create the figural shapes, but it is Eugenio Zampighi's respect for his subject that transforms this work from a clever genre painting into a more enduring record a memorable interaction between family members. Similarly, in a painting like The Latest News, Eugenio Zampighi presents an amusing scene of two monks exchanging gossip over cappuccino, but at the same time he respects their humanity.
Eugenio Zampighis first entered the Modena Academy at the surprisingly young age of thirteen. Like so many northern Italian communities, Modena's cultural sophistication had its roots in the medieval university. Eugenio Zampighi's admission to the Academy's prestigious art school meant that he received a classical education, where he settled on a focus on the art of ancient Rome and the Renaissance. At graduation, he passed his exams with first class honors and was awarded a scholarship to study in Rome. At the end of his scholarship, Eugenio Zampighi spent time in Florence. His interests lay in genre painting rather than landscapes to depict the lives of ordinary people. Like the realists in France, the Macchiaioli hoped to convey a sense of immediacy about the conditions of working people as well as the poor. The search for a cultural and national identity in the visual arts was inseparable from the ideals of the Risorgimento, and although little is known about Eugenio Zampighi's political views, there is no doubt that he supported the resurgence of Italian leadership in art. After a year of study in Florence, heavily influenced by the Renaissance heritage and the contemporary Macchiaioli, Eugenio Zampighi decided to settle there. Eugenio Zampighis subjects ranged from home furnishings to leisure activities to celebrations with family. The modest paintings appeal to a middle-class art market and were sold primarily through dealers in art in Florence. In addition, his paintings were equally successful with British and American art collectors.
During his Florentine years, Eugenio Zampighi also created a large painting for the Academy of Modena. Based on a poem by Giacomo Leopardi, one of the most respected Italian writers of the 19th century, the painting was very popular and eventually earned him the honorary title of Professor of the Academy. More typical, however, were paintings such as A New Friend, which depicts a young mother holding her baby while an older man hands the child a toy monkey. The scene itself is not particularly remarkable, but the figures demand the viewer's attention because they seem so completely caught up in the moment, as if a camera had simply captured a candid family scene. Part of this immediacy stems from the use of maquis or patches of light and dark used to create the figural shapes, but it is Eugenio Zampighi's respect for his subject that transforms this work from a clever genre painting into a more enduring record a memorable interaction between family members. Similarly, in a painting like The Latest News, Eugenio Zampighi presents an amusing scene of two monks exchanging gossip over cappuccino, but at the same time he respects their humanity.
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