Coming from a well-off family Renucci was born in Leghorn and when he was eighteen got to know the artist Ugo Manaresi. He decided to leave his father’s thriving shipping business to dedicate his time completely to art. He began by painting from life and soon developed a love for maritime painting: the port, the Medici canals, the sailing boats, the fishermen from Leghorn became his main source of inspiration. At first he was influenced by the school of the Macchiaioli, however this was modified by emphasis of a Divisionist nature and greater simplification.

In 1908 he exhibited at the “Accademia di Firenze”. He also undertook rural scenes working during WW1 in the Maremma, in the village of Bibbona, where he met his wife Orfa Ricucci, who he married in 1916 and with whom he had three children, Raul, Rina and Edda. They and other pupils studied in Ricucci’s studio that he ran in Borgo San Jacopo from the late 30’s onwards. Sometimes he worked on still life paintings of great clarity both in composition and colour.

In 1920 he was one of the founders of “The Leghorn Group”, together with Baracchini Caputi, Natali, Romiti, Razzaguta and other artists from Leghorn and he took part in almost all of the exhibitions organised by the society. During the Second World War, Renucci’s house in Leghorn was bombed and his son Raul died at sea in 1943. In spite of these dramatic events, to which can be added his worsening deafness, he continued to paint.

He moved to Bibbona and his last works are mainly rural landscapes. His desire was to spend the last months of his life in the town he loved so much, Leghorn, and here he died in April 1947. In 1957 a large exhibition in his memory was held at the “Galleria Cocchini di Livorno” and, again, in 1977 there was a retrospective exhibition, this time sponsored by the municipality council accompanied by a monograph.

Written by: Gioela Massagli – Translated by: Catherine Biggerstaff

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