Umberto Boccioni - theorist and discoverer of futurism

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

It's already been a century since the emergence of a very unusual trend in art - futurism. This revolutionary trend arose under the influence of the rebellious age. The masters of the early 20th century sought to move forward, depict a lifestyle associated with urbanization and the development of technological progress. Many painters of those times tried their hand in this direction. But the Italian master Umberto Boccioni is the founder, father, ideologist, icon of the futuristic style.

Childhood

In the small village of Reggio di Calabria, in southern Italy, the Italian artist Boccini (1882) was born. His parents were from the northern Italian region - Romagna. Often the family moved from one city to another and finally settled in the city of Catania. Here the boy received his secondary education, but did not yet have any attachments to the fine arts. In 1901 he settled in Rome and entered the Academy of Fine Arts.

Early Learning

It was in Rome that Umberto Boccioni met his co-author in the futuristic direction - Severini. Both of themtaught by the famous artist Giacomo Balla, from whom the young man learned the technique of pointillism. After that, Boccioni traveled extensively in Italy, visited Paris and visited Russia. The Italian artist encountered the features of impressionism. In Milan, Umberto meets the Symbolist poet Marinetti. It is he who will publish a futuristic manifesto in one of the French newspapers. Boccioni became his follower.

First works

How did Umberto Boccioni start? The paintings of the initial period were distinguished by the use of small strokes of pure shades in them. Initially, these were portraits. The first works of the painter were still characterized by the old Italian features of art, they differed from the advanced French trends inspired by revolutionary motives. In Rome, Umberto was able to learn how to draw nudes. And so he came to futuristic painting.

The most famous work of the young Boccioni - "Paolo and Francesca". It combines dynamic and lyrical features, it is dedicated to the eternal theme of love. All the usual ideas about art change when looking at the artist's early painting "Laughter". A very memorable work of the author is the canvas "State of Soul". In it, the master was able to capture his vision of the world with chaotic lines resembling people, machines, animals. The intuitive artistic world of Umberto Boccioni consists of blurred faces, indistinct figures.

The main features of the artist's work

Boccioni followed Marinetti's futuristic manifesto for a very long time. His workinherent in the incompleteness of the composition, the openness of the surrounding space. The main task in writing his paintings was solved by color, not form. In his works, the master could combine completely incompatible things. These ideas pushed art to a new direction - pop art. The Italian celebrity was inspired by science, technology, dynamism, speed, the will to live.

A little later, the artist adds elements of cubism to the futuristic features. Stable elements, geometric figures gave monumentality to the works. In his paintings, Boccioni conveyed everything he saw and felt as one whole. The bustle of the city is the main theme of his creations. Torn swirls, unusual shapes, multi-colored edges, fragments. His work can be compared to a picture in a children's kaleidoscope. Movement is the meaning of the life and work of a wonderful Italian artist.

Sculptural works of the master

Umberto Boccioni was a very versatile person. Sculptures also took place in the work of the great master. Visiting the studios of very famous artists at the time, Boccioni decided to apply his futuristic principles to sculpture. He completed several works in this style and wrote the Futurist Sculpture Manifesto. In 1913, the artist began to publish in one of the futuristic newspapers. In it, he promoted with full force the ideas of the fashion movement in painting and sculpture. The master believed that any drawing or sculpture is a kind of whirlwind of emotions. From the word "whirlwind" came a new direction in Englishart - vorticism. It was Boccioni who gave impetus to its appearance. Vorticism has more angles, more dynamism than Futurism. These two styles have been replaced by abstract art.

Rock

When the First World War began, it quickly took over all of Europe, showed its ferocious face, spreading violence. Umberto Boccioni, along with other futurists, enrolled in a volunteer battalion of the regular army. He was able to see all the horrors of war. On vacation, the artist continued to write and lecture on futurism. During an exercise in one of the artillery brigades, Umberto lost control of his horse and crashed to death. After his death, no one led the futurist movement, it collapsed, having lost its young leader. Boccioni lived only 33 years.