An extremely fine impression, richly inked and selectively wiped to intensify the contrasts between light and shade. Wide margins, minimal faults at margins, otherwise in fine condition

This print belongs to the famed series of eleven etchings depicting the Mercato Vecchio in Florence, which no longer exists. Its restructuring, which resulted in the destruction of many medieval buildings, led to the creation of the Nuovo Mercato Centrale, which opened in 1874. This is the date that appears on the cover of the portfolio in which the series of etchings was originally collated. However, in a letter dated 1892 addressed to the President of the Florentine Accademia, Signorini wrote that the etchings were executed in 1886, prior to the demolition works. This was indeed the case; it has long been known that the etchings were largely based on his earlier paintings devoted entirely to views of the Mercato Vecchio.

Signorini belonged to the circle of young artists that gathered regularly at Caffé Michelangelo in Florence. Along with Giovanni Fattori and Silvestro Lega, he was among the leading exponents of the Macchiaioli, the Italian counterparts of French plein air painters. Signorini was a passionate and free spirit, who spent most of his life wandering through Italy and Europe. He frequently travelled to Paris and London where he exhibited and sold his works: in London at the Royal Academy and the Grosvenor Gallery; and in Paris, through the dealers Goupil and Reitlinger. There, Signorini met Corot and Courbet and made contact with Boldini and De Nittis. He was, moreover, intrigued by the works of Manet and Degas. Like these French masters Signorini was fascinated by the expressive potential of printmaking, an interest that lead to his experimenting with new printing techniques.

References: M. Hopkinson, Italian Prints 1875-1975, catalogue of the exhibition at the British Museum, London 2007, pp. 97-99.