Eugenio Cecconi (Italian, 1842-1903)


The orange sellers signed and dated 'ECecconi 1878' (lower right)oil on canvas50.2 x 106.7cm (19 3/4 x 42in).
|ProvenancePrivate collection, New Zealand.Eugenio Cecconi was born in Leghorn, Italy into a wealthy family. He spent his childhood in Piedmont and went on to study law at university in Pisa. While studying for his law degree, Cecconi enrolled at The Accademia under Enrico Pollastrini in Florence. But the untimely death of his father in 1865 enabled him to abandon the legal profession and dedicate himself entirely to art.Upon his return to Leghorn, Cecconi shared a studio with Giovanni Belimbau and became friends with Diego Martelli. Martelli invited him to Castiglioncello where he met Giovanni Boldini and Giuseppe Abbati; Abbati was to be an important influence upon his artistic development. In 1869 he exhibited at the Turin Promotrice and in 1872 at the Milan National Exhibition where his work was well received with the Macchiaiole di Tombolo. In 1875 he went to Tunisia with Giovanni Belimbau and returned to Italy with numerous studies.Cecconi settled in Lari and Torre del Lago where he pursued his two loves, painting and hunting and produced some of his most celabrated work including Caccia alle folaghe nel lago di Massaciuccoli.In 1880, he participated at the first Modern paintings exhibition of the Donatello Society of Florence. Here he showed Il riposo, which was much admired by Telemaco Signorini. In 1881, following his participation at The Promotrice, he decided to settle in Florence.Cecconi's work can be seen in public collections in Rome and Florence.