Futurism was a hugely influential art movement in the early twentieth century and Umberto Boccioni was one of its chief proponents. It was the first modern art movement to choose its own name and was highly political – futurists were involved in the demos and riots of Italy in 1914-15. They felt stifled by Italian art traditions and wanted a complete break with the past, finding inspiration in noise, machinery and speed. It inspired Dada and Vorticism, and even the 1970s London punk scene; in the Adam and the Ants song "Animals and Men", on the Dirk Wears White Sox album.
Early life of Boccioni
Umberto Boccioni was born on 19th October 1882 in Reggio Calabria, southern Italy. He was very close to his mother throughout his life, seeking her counsel when his work did not get the attention he felt it deserved. By 1898 he was training in the studio of Giacomo Balla, where he learned pointillism. He stayed here until 1902.
The year 1906 was busy for Boccioni. He visited Paris for the first time and studied Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. He also took a trip to Russia, and studied drawing at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice. By 1907 he had settled in Milan, the heart of industrialisation in Italy. It was here that he first encountered Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944), an experience that would change his art forever.
Most Important Works of Umberto Boccioni
"Riot in the Gallery" (1909), depicting a violent uprising at a traditional art institution was Boccioni’s first major futurist painting; however, "The City Rises" is generally considered to be a much higher quality work. 1911 saw a radical turning point in his art when, on a visit to Paris he discovered Cubism and met Pablo Picasso. He was completely inspired. The swift, flowing brushstrokes of "The City Rises" gave way to the angular, almost abstract feel of the States of Mind series (1911-1912) and he developed a keenness for sculpture.
In 1913 he created his bronze, "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space", which depicts a human figure speeding ahead. Sadly, his life was cut short when, fittingly enough, he died in motion – he was thrown from his horse during an army training exercise on 16th August 1916.
Marinetti and Boccioni
The entrepreneurial Filippo Tommaso Marinetti was the founding father of futurism, buying the front page of influential Parisian newspaper Le Figaro in order to launch his Futurist Manifesto. This important work was read all over Europe and urged artists to embrace the aesthetics of machinery and engineering. It was radical, and even called for the abolition of museums, libraries and academies.
Whereas Marinetti was more literary minded, it was Boccioni who adapted these ideas to art, publishing the Technical Manifesto of the Futurist Painters in 1910, along with other futurists. This emphasised the importance of dynamism and movement in painting, urging artists to ‘render the whole of its surrounding atmosphere’ when portraying a human figure. He followed this up in 1912 with the Manifesto of Futurist Sculpture. This advocated the use of material such as cement and cloth – common in art now, but an outrageous idea at the time. A true futurist, he was indeed ahead of his time.
Further Reading:
- Futurism 100! at the Estorick Collection
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/70885/Umberto-boccioni
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