Francesco Fanelli Biography
Francesco Fanelli was born in Livorno on 9 March 1869.
He attended the Art Institute “A. Passaglia” of Lucca from 1883 to 1887 under the guidance of Luigi Norfini and Michele Marcucci.
Subsequently, he entered the orbit of Silvestro Lega and participated in meetings at the Volturno restaurant in Florence together with other artists, where the mutation of painting in an impressionist sense was debated.
At the Florentine Promotrice of '91-'92, Fanelli presented some studies from life.
In these years, he decided to enroll in the Free School of the Nude at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, which he attended assiduously until 1995 and then again between 1902 and 1905. His fellow student was Ferruccio Pagni , with whom he forms a brotherly friendship and discovers Torre del Lago, where Giacomo Puccini has recently made his home.
Through his attendance at Torre del Lago, Fanelli participated in the birth of the “La Bohème” Club founded by Pagni together with Gambogi, Nomellini and the brothers Angiolo and Lodovico Tommasi. However, after Pagni's departure for South America, the painter moved to Viareggio and participated in the birth of new cultural circles, such as the "Gianni Schicchi" Club founded in 1919 in honor of Puccini and the "Accademia gli Zeteti”.
Francesco Fanelli died the following year, during a stay in Bagno a Ripoli, on 16 July 1924. Fanelli is remembered for having been a painter with decorative talent and a skilled colourist and draftsman, as well as having tried the path of Impressionism. His works include landscapes of Torre del Lago and the Viareggio docks, as well as some portraits.
