Guglielmo Micheli: Modigliani’s Maestro
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Guglielmo Micheli: Modigliani’s Maestro

Another important step in Modigliani’s youth was his apprenticeship in the Micheli studio, where, after convincing his mother at a time when he was ill, he started to learn to draw at just 14 years old.

Guglielmo Micheli (Livorno, 12 October 1866 – Livorno, 7 September 1926) was a pupil of Giovanni Fattori and teacher to Amedeo Modigliani and Gino Romiti. Through Giovanni Fattori's influence he entered the Macchiaioli slipstream. 

Through Giovanni Fattori's influence he entered the Macchiaioli slipstream. Gugliemo Micheli’s works can be visited in the Giovanni Fattori Civic Museum.

Micheli began his artistic training with the painter Natale Betti in Livorno. He was granted a scholarship by the foundation of the entrepreneur, Michelangelo Bastogi, thanks to which he managed to go to Florence at the School of Fine Arts. He attended the painting class at the Giovanni Fattori nude free school, where he became the favourite pupil. From 1894 to 1906, Micheli lived in Livorno again, where his studio became a school for many painters of the post-Macchiaioli generation, including Amedeo Modigliani, Gino Romiti and Oscar Ghiglia.

From 1907 to the end of his life, Micheli taught at several Italian art schools: at Acqui Terme, then Iglesias, Cortona, Sassari, Caltanissetta, Bari, Pisa and lastly at Arezzo.

Mainly influence by Giovanni Fattori, he then found his own style; in particular his sea views were successful. His artistic production includes drawings, oil paintings, watercolours, etchings, and book illustrations. 

Many of his works are found in the Giovanni Fattori Museum in Livorno, including his self portrait (1915) 

(source: wikipedia)