He sketched as a hobby and his talent was noticed by Giovanni Fattori, who encouraged him to enroll at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, where he studied with Fattori and was influenced by the works of Silvestro Lega.
He sketched as a hobby and his talent was noticed by Giovanni Fattori, who encouraged him to enroll at the Academy of Fine Arts of Florence, which he did, against parental objections, when he was only fifteen. While there, he studied with Fattori and was influenced by the works of Silvestro Lega.