One of Silvestro Lega’s masterpieces, Il pergolato [The Trellis], was painted in 1868 in Piagentina. In 1861, the artist had retreated to this locality in the Florentine hills, and like many other Macchiaioli painters, was drawn to the landscape and the opportunity to paint in the open air. Inspired by the many pleasant afternoons spent at the home of the Batelli family, who generously hosted him, the artist depicted a theme of the everyday life of that time. The scene gave the painter an excuse to exercise his skill in landscape and “macchia” painting, aiming at quickly and synthetically layering on the paint, generally avoiding the description of details, and using uniform fields of colour to allow objects to emerge through strong contrasts of light and shadow.

The Macchiaioli rebelled against Romantic historical and mythological painting and their movement championed a new, more spontaneous art, focused on reality and everyday life, in a style that could convey “immediacy” in their subjects, or rather, their moods. For these painters, the landscape was almost equivalent to their sensibilities. 

In Italian painting, the Macchiaioli were partly considered the forerunners of the Impressionists, and with them, the themes and techniques changed. However, Lega distinguished himself by constructing the image in a skilful and impeccable way, in terms of perspective, conceptually reconnecting with the great Tuscan Renaissance painters of the 15th century.

The painting was donated to the Pinacoteca di Brera by the Associazione Amici di Brera in 1931.