His early education was rudimentary and his family initially planned for him to study for a qualification in commerce, but his skill in drawing persuaded them to apprentice him in 1845 to Giuseppe Baldini (1807–1876), a local painter of religious themes and genre subjects.

At that time, however, his energies were directed less toward the study of art than to reading the historical novels (especially those with medieval themes) of such authors as Ugo Foscolo, Francesco Domenico Guerrazzi and Walter Scott.

In 1848 he interrupted his studies and participated as a courier, distributing leaflets for the Partito d'Azione, in the democratic anti-Austrian movement during the revolutionary years of 1848–49.

One of his best historical themes was "Maria Stuarda", (Mary Stuart at the battlefield of Langside) painted between 1858 and 1860, based on his reading of Walter Scott.

In the early 1850s Fattori began frequenting the Caffè Michelangiolo on via Larga, a popular gathering place for Florentine artists who carried on lively discussions of politics and new trends in art.

Several of these artists would discover the work of the painters of the Barbizon school while visiting Paris for the Exposition of 1855, and would bring back to Italy an enthusiasm for the then-novel practice of painting outdoors, directly from nature.

This marked a turning point in Fattori's development: he became a member of the Macchiaioli, a group of Tuscan painters whose methods and aims are somewhat similar to those of the Impressionists, of which they are considered forerunners.

Like their French counterparts, they were criticized for their paintings' lack of decorative qualities and conventional finish, although the Macchiaioli did not go as far as the Impressionists did in dissolving form in light.

In 1859 he won the competition for a patriotic battle scene, organized by the Concorso Ricasoli (national competition organized by the government of Bettino Ricasoli) with his painting Il campo italiano dopo la battaglia di Magenta (The Italian Camp at the Battle of Magenta) (completed in 1860–61).

In these works he demonstrated his mastery of macchia technique, natural light and shade with their contrasting areas of broad colour, showing the formative influence of Giovanni Costa.

Fattori received an award at the Parma exhibition of 1870 for his battle scene Prince Amadeo Feritio at Custoza.

In 1875 Fattori, together with Francesco Gioli, Egisto Ferroni and Niccolò Cannicci, visited Paris, where he was exhibiting his work Repose at the Salon.

Via Diego Martelli, who was now living in Paris, he came into contact with many French artists, among them Camille Pissarro and the expatriate Federico Zandomeneghi.

But he reacted unenthusiastically to Impressionist works, expressing his preference for the artists of the Barbizon school[2] and his deep admiration for Édouard Manet and Corot.

[3] He started giving private painting lessons and, from 1869, he taught twice weekly at the Florentine Academy (where one of his late students was Amedeo Modigliani).

His visits to the estate of the Princes Corsini in Maremma in 1881 and 1882 culminated in a series of paintings of cowherds, some of which were exhibited at the Esposizione Nazionale in Venice in 1887.

At exhibitions in Paris, he received an honourable mention in 1889 and the gold medal at the Exposition Universelle in 1900 for his etching 'Bovi al Carro' (Oxen to the Cart).

Known for his honesty and candor,[5] Fattori deplored the direction he saw some of his students were taking in the 1890s, as a group of them, led by his favourite pupil Plinio Nomellini, adopted a Neo-impressionist style, the Divisionismo (Chromoluminarism).

He was buried, with other illustrious people from Livorno, in the loggia next to the church Santuario della Madonna di Montenero in the village of Monte Nero [it].