The Pergola

Silvestro Lega, born into a wealthy family in Modigliana (1826-1895) was an Italian painter and a dominant name in the Macchiaioli movement. He was a student trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti (Academy of Fine Arts) in Florence and later under various prominent teachers such as Luigi Mussini, where he grew fond of the Renaissance art and linear composition styles. Upon joining the Macchiaioli group, he worked under the guidance of Tuscan painters in Florence. This group was renowned for its technique of contrasting patches of light and colour, known as ‘macchie’. However, Lega’s artforms were distinctively noticeable through emphasis on direct observation, natural lighting, contrasts of colour and shadow based on depictions of daily domestic lives, interiors, and the Tuscan countryside, ornamented with subtle, sensitive emotional expressions. His developed art style portray hearty scenes in the Tuscan countryside, creating the feel of realism, mastery of natural light, and serenity, making him one of the top artists of 19th century in Italy. The Pergola (Il Pergolato or Un dopo pranzo) was painted by Silvestro Lega in 1868 and is one of the worldwide masterpieces of the Macchiaioli movement and a governing piece depicting Italian realism of 19th century Italy. An artwork executed in oil on canvas, it demonstrates a group of women enjoying a serene afternoon under a vine-canopied pergola with their teas being served. It is vivid in “The Pergola” the speckled sunlight screening through the vine foliage, creating a harmony of light and shadow play, a fine display of Lega’s mastery in “en plein-air”, the act of painting outdoors. He scrupulously preserved the compositional order and the clarity seen in the Renaissance traditions. A ‘pergola’ is typically defined as a framework covered with climbers such as grapevines, creating a shaded space in a garden. Research done on Roman gardens also show that these pergolas commonly functioned as dining spaces, shaded walkways, decorative garden architectures, which inspirated social relaxation and conversations. One must understand that Silvestro has painted the pergola not simply as abcakdrop but an architectural piece providing comfort, shade, and a domestic setting. The women indulging in their ‘tea-time’ under the shade are a reflection of the generational association between pergolas and leisure and social interaction. As pergolas were used to deepen the connection of one with the nature, Lega similarly used it to smoothly merge daily activities of people with the supporting landscape, integrating lighting and foliage smartly to tie the whole composition together. The illusionistic pergola is a much more than a decorative piece of architecture, rather a strong, sturdy and a structural symbol of cultivated leisure of the human nature and the beauty of natural landscape and the environment around. It is a metaphor of tranquilism, shelter, harmony in the co-existence of man-made and nature. It functions as a socialism token, a zone of transition between the interior and thee eexterior spatial layout. It creates a beautiful paradox of providing the impression of candor under an enclosure. Silvestro Lega presents the peaceful elegance of the everyday life of the working-class rather than dramatizing the narrative. A rather instictively balanced composition of subtlety and emotions.