BORRANI, Odoardo
(b. 1833, Pisa, d. 1905, Firenze)

Sand Diggers on the Mugnone

1880
Oil on canvas141 x 112 cm
Galleria dell'Arte Moderna, Palazzo Pitti, Florence

Two workers with shovels and sieves descend to the waters of the Mugnone stream, a tributary of the Arno, in order to dig for sand that is needed for construction work. Judging from the cool and silvery palette, this rendering is presumably an early morning scene. Along with Telemaco Signorini and Vincenzo Cabianca, Borrani practiced en plein air painting, preferring, however, minute details and a darker palette than his fellow painters.