Luigi Bechi
Born in Florence in 1830, Luigi Bechi was a pupil of Bezzuoli and Pollastrini at the Academy of Florence, where he also later taught. Bechi began his career as a history painter, preferring Biblical subjects, but later became a key member of the Macchiaioli, a group of Italian painters who reacted against academic art and worked to emphasize painterly immediacy and freshness.
Bechi received praise for his paintings during his lifetime, winning a medal in Florence and exhibiting at the Suffolk Street Galleries in London in 1879. Today, his works are in many important museum collections, including the Prado in Madrid and the Gallery of Modern Art in Florence. p4a.com acknowledges the Neal Auction Company for this reference note.