With a sketch for this canvas, Fatti won the competition for a better job of the recent wars for the liberation of Italy from the Austrians. The artist himself recalled this crucial episode of his creative biography: After the war of 1859, the Tuscan government headed Bettino Ricasoli. The sublime thought dawned on the arrogant baron: to stimulate the development of art in Tuscany. He announced a competition for the best work on the most important episodes of the battles in Lombardy, such as, for example, the battle of Magenta, Solferino and so on.
This competition worried me a lot; I thought about him day and night, but did not dare to participate in it. It was Nino Costa, in the Duomo Square, as I now remember, told me with his Roman accent: “For God’s sake, participate and conquer.” From that day began my real life in art, and all this I owe to my poor friend. This is my picture, the first on the battle theme, is in the Gallery of Modern Art of Florence; after it there were others.
Camp italien à la bataille de Magenta – Giovanni Fattori 
Campamento italiano en la batalla de Magenta – Giovanni Fattori 
Leg in the stirrup by Giovanni Fattori 
Portrait of his wife by Giovanni Fattori 
Tabunshchik by Giovanni Fattori 
Heavenly battle by Nicholas Roerich 
Portrait of the stepdaughter by Giovanni Fattori 
Portrait of Arjia’s cousin by Giovanni Fattori