Italian art of the 20th century

F U T U R I S T PAINTERS GIACOMO BALLA Born in Turin 1871; lives in Rome. In Paris he became acquainted with "impressionism" and "divisionism." H e was one of the first to sign the "Manifesto of Futurist Painting" in Milan in 1910, and one of the first creators of this new form of painting, of which he is considered a pioneer and a master. His paintings are to be found in the art galleries of all principal Italian and foreign cities. Boccioni and Severini were his pupils 1 SPEEDING CAR (1913) 2 LANDSCAPE , FORCES AND LINES (1918) 3 TRANSFORMAT IONS , FORMS—SP I R I TS (1920) UMBERTO BOCCIONI Born at Reggio Calabria, 1882; died in Verona 1916; volunteer and war veteran. He was the chief exponent of futurist painting and sculpture as well as its principal theorist; advocate of "plastic dynamics" (to which he dedicated an important book ) , he created painting and sculpture which is the most representative of the futurist movement. Was one of the signatories to the first "Manifesto of Futurism" 4 5 DEVELOPMENT O F A BOTTLE IN SPACE ( 1 9 1 3 ) , BRONZE Collection B. Marinetti, Rome DYNAMICS OF A CYCLIST ( 1 9 1 4 ) , LITHOGRAPH Collection E. Pram polini, Rome GINO SEVERINI Born at Cortona (Tuscany) 1883; lives in Paris. A pupil of Balla, he started by taking part in the new painting trends while in Rome. He was one of the first signatories of the "Manifesto of Futurism" as well as a pioneer of the new movement to which he gave a great theoretical contribution with articles and books. H e was particularly successful in Italy and Switzerland with his frescoes and mosaics of religious inspiration 6 7 RHYTHM OF FORMS STILL LIFE Collection Civic Mu s eum o f Modern Art, Rome MARIO SIRONI Born at Sassari 1885; lives in Milan. Together with Boccioni and Severini, he attended the studio of the painter Balla; in 1914 he took part in the first futurist rallies. After the first world war, together with other painters, he founded the "Novecento" group in Milan. The monumental style of his painting brought about the creation of import- ant frescoes and mosaics 8 9 FUTURIST COMPOSITION ( 1 9 1 5 ) , PEN AND WATER COLOUR Collection Dr. Piero Bellanova, Rome FIGURE IN MOVEMENT (1914) Collection Dr. Piero Bellanova, Rome ENRICO PRAMPOLINI Born at Modena 1894; lives in Rome. In 1912, when still a student at the Academy of Beaux Arts, he started his participation in the Futurist movement. Painter, sculptor and scenographer, he made a large contribution to the evolution of plastic arts with his articles of a theoretical and polemic character, bringing them towards the abstract tendencies of which he is one of the chief exponents. In Italy and abroad he took part in the most important movements of the vanguard. He was awarded 23 prizes for painting, scenography and architecture. He is President of the Central Ar t Club and Vice-President of the National Committee for Plastic Arts at the U.N.E.S.C.O. 1 0 WOMAN + WINDOW (1914) Collection Vittorio Orazi, Rome " N O V E C E N T O " PAINTERS MASSIMO CAMPIGLI Born in Florence 1895; lives in Paris, where h e began painting in 1919. Inspired by archaic art, he created an artistic form o f his own, which evoked a particular formal stylization and a very personal composition. His paintings are to be found in the most important European and American Museums 11 THE SISTERS 1 2 SELF PORTRAIT CARLO CARRA' Born at Quargnento (Piedmont) 1881; lives in Milan where, in 1909, he took part in the founding of the Futurist movement with important contributions of paintings and polemic articles which helped t o affirm it in Italy and abroad. I n 1915 he became a crusader, with De Chirico, of metaphysical painting, on which subject h e wrote a book. Subse- quently, he turned to a new form of figurative art which did not deny the preceding experiences. One of the foremost Italian painters, he has written several books on art criticism and aesthetics. His paintings are to be found in the most important museums 13 14 WOMAN WITH A DOG National Gallery o f Modern Art, Rome LANDSCAPE (1947) National Gallery o f Modern Art, Rome [13] [121