Country Road with Cypresses 1860

Giuseppe Abbati made this painting of a country road with cypresses using oil on panel. Abbati was one of the Macchiaioli, a group of Italian painters active in Tuscany in the second half of the 19th century, who were early adopters of painting outdoors. Their landscapes reflect the rural life, and agricultural labor of the region. In “Country Road with Cypresses,” the surface is built up of countless small brushstrokes, a hallmark of the Macchiaioli style. These dabs of paint create a richly textured surface, full of light and shadow. The warm palette of earth tones and greens, punctuated by the dark vertical accents of the cypress trees, captures the essence of the Tuscan countryside. You can imagine Abbati on location, working quickly to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere. His sensitivity to materiality connects him to wider histories of art-making that prioritize the artist’s physical engagement with the world, and with the techniques of their practice.