Macchiaioli

Group of Italian painters active from the 1850s to the 1880s. Their works, which are mostly landscapes, are characterized by sharp tonal contrasts and by the use of patches of bright colour - both the result of working out of doors. The Macchiaioli were among the most important Italian artists of the 19th century, their two leading figures being Giovanni Fattori (1825-1908) and Telemaco Signori (1835-1901), their principal theoretician.