Futurism



The Futurism art movement started in 1909 and essentially lasted until 1916. It is a movement with left wing political implications founded by the poet Marinetti. Italy was poor and underdeveloped at the time with social inequalities after their unification in 1870 due to corrupt politicians interested in personal gain. So a movement which sought to free Italy from the oppressive weight of its past and promised to provide a brighter future was appealing to the population. The popular discontent continued beyond WW1 which paved the way for the rise of Facism and Mussolini's  rise to power. The movement glorified the modern world and machinery, speed and violence (connected to the advancements in technology) were common subjects of the movement. Futurism was against tradition, academic training, museums and art galleries featuring art of the past.
 The movement heavily draws on Cubism in particular to show motion and Neo Impressionism in that it used strong and bright colours. The picture must be a synthesis of what one remembers and what one sees and it uses simultaneous viewpoints in a similar way to Cubism. Paintings were of contemporary life and featured geometric shapes in addition to movement and speed hence the depiction of vehicles. The paintings have a restless energy about them.

                                                Gino Severini - The Armoured Train 1915
This is a powerful painting depicting troops going to war. It doesn't show the bad side of war.

                           Gino Severini - La Danse de l'ours au Moulin Rouge 1913 100x73cm
Severini was less attracted to the subject of the machine than his fellow futurists and frequently chose the form of the dancer to express futurist theories of dynamics.

                                   Giacomo Balla - Abstract Speed and Sound 1914 21.5"x30"
Balla chose the automobile as a symbol of speed, depicting it racing through the landscape.

 Giacomo Balla - The Street Lamp:study of light c. 1910-11 (although dated as 1909 on painting) 69"x45"
Here Balla depicts an electric street lamp casting a glow which outshines the crescent moon.

                                           Carlo Carra - Rhythm of Objects 1911 53x67cm

                                   Carlo Carra - Funeral of the Anarchist Galli 1911, 199x259cm
Carra's most famous painting.


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