Eugenio Zampighi

Knitting Lesson

Late 19th Century

Born in Modena, Italy, Eugenio Zampighi entered the local Academy of Design at 13. He eventually became one of the most decorated students, and in 1869, he was awarded a scholarship and spent the next three years in Rome. By 1884, having settled in Florence, he had begun to paint the genre works that eventually placed him with the leading artist’s of Italy. Zampighi proceeded to devote his career to painting simple Italian domestic life, centring on the figures he saw around him and usually depicted in jovial company, similar to the Spanish court painter Velazquez whose earlier genre paintings from Seville often reflected Spanish domesticity. Inspired by, and most fond of, the domestic lives of the common people – the peasants – the artist displayed sympathy for their small, intimate world and no detail seemed too trivial to record. In homes where families worked and played, everything was studied and reproduced with care. Zampighi was happy to present conscientiously, with love and truth, the moments of their lives. Always bronzed from the fruitful Italian sun, healthy, fresh and lively, his children were oblivious to all but the delights of life. He was most capable in the area of expression, not only those of human nature, but of Italian nature particularly. The Magazine of Art in 1880 stated: “Nothing could be more trite than the Italian artists’ subject but he has the gift of giving freshness to the oldest themes by his energy and observation.” As an artist Zampighi primarily worked on a commission basis, refusing to participate in official showing, so much of his work entered private collections, mostly in England, Australia and America. An exceptional designer and watercolorist, the artist was also awarded the degree of Professor by the Academy in Modena.