Raffaello Sernesi

Raffaello Sernesi was an Italian painter active in the 19th century and a member of the Macchiaioli group. This group of Florentine and Neapolitan painters reacted against the rigid Italian art academies, seeking instruction from nature instead. The Macchiaioli believed that "patches" (macchia) of color were the most significant element in painting, and that a painting's impact should come from its surface rather than a narrative or message. Sernesi, along with other Macchiaioli like Giovanni Fattori and Silvestro Lega, used color in a highly original manner to capture initial impressions of nature through light and color.1