Born in Leghorn, when Giovanni Fattori was very young he studied in the studio of Giuseppe Baldini an artist from Leghorn. In 1846 he moved to Florence and chose to study at the school of Giuseppe Bezzuoli. He soon left it and went instead to the "Accademia di Belle Arti", but did not attend it regularly. Between 1848 and '49 Giovanni Fattori neglected his painting - few of his early works have survived - and, although he did not take an active part in the war for independence, he was involved in distributing secret publications in Tuscany.

In 1853, he was to be seen at Caffè Michelangelo, where he learned about contemporary art movements. Between 1853 and '54 he studied realism, t...