Gruppo Labronico
The Gruppo Labronico is an Italian artists' association founded in Livorno on 15 July 1920, in the studio of the painter Gino Romiti, after the closing of the Caffè Bardi and the death of Mario Puccini ended the era of the gatherings that had animated the city's art life. Its founders - among them Romiti, Renato Natali, Giovanni March, Goffredo Cognetti and Gastone Razzaguta - carried forward the Tuscan lineage of Giovanni Fattori and the Macchiaioli: direct observation of the Livorno coast, countryside and everyday life. Romiti, a pupil of Guglielmo Micheli and a friend of Modigliani, moved between post-macchiaioli structure and divisionist color; Natali painted the city's old quarters, sailors and fisherfolk. The group remained a durable centre of regional painting, donating its historical archives (1920-1932) to the city in 2014 and celebrating its centenary in 2020.
Defining characteristics
- Tuscan light: pine woods, tamarisk, gardens and the Livorno coast painted from direct observation
- Post-macchiaioli construction, with form built from patches of tone
- Divisionist color vibrations - broken touches of pure color in the mature work
- Intimate local subjects: old quarter alleys, sailors, fisherfolk, everyday scenes
- Calm, atmospheric moods and restrained, harmonious color
Key figures
- Gino Romiti (1881-1967) — Post-macchiaiolo painter who founded the group in his studio and later led it
- Renato Natali (1883-1979) — Painter of Livorno's alleys, popolane and nocturnal scenes, co-founder
Example works
- I giardini del mare — Gino Romiti (1913)
- Maria di Valencia — Renato Natali (c. 1932)
Sources
- Gruppo Labronico - Wikipedia encyclopedia