Sculptor/Artist

Boccioni was born in Reggio di Calabria but left for Rome when he was 18. There the painter Giacomo Balla taught him the neo-impressionist technique of divisionism: the dynamic use of elementary colours.

In 1910, he met the spiritual father of Futurism, the writer Marinetti. He felt drawn to this young, revolutionary movement that advocated a positive belief in permanent innovation. The world was coming to terms with the unique possibilities offered by the discovery of electricity and the invention of photographic material. The artist had to participate in this process and not try to create aesthetic and timeless art in isolation. He had “to express and glorify modern life, which was continuously and unexpectedly being transformed by the triumphs of science”. Boccioni soon developed into a theoretician and leading figure of the futurism movement and wrote numerous manifestos. In 1915, when Italy became embroiled in the First World War, the patriotic Futurists, including Boccioni, joined the army as volunteers. They regarded the Italian involvement first and foremost as the last step towards national unification. Military life did not match the expectations of the highly motivated Boccioni at all. He wrote to a friend:

“I will leave this kind of life with the greatest contempt for everything that is not art. …. Compared to art, all other things represent nothing more than messing around, a rut, patience and memories”.

Five days after writing these words Boccioni died after having fallen from his horse.

Trivia:

'Universal dynamism must be rendered in painting as a dynamic sensation ... Motion and light destroy the materiality of bodies.'

They call the Futurists madmen, charlatans, clowns, rascals, bluffers, obfuscators, and even worse … --Giovanni Papini, 1913

Umberto Boccioni was perhaps the most versatile and impassioned of the Futurists--the literary, political, and artistic movement that flourished in Italy during the first half of the 20th century, proclaiming a revolutionary, spectacular style of life. His masterwork, Materia, a huge canvas painted during July and August of 1912, depicts the artist's mother seated on the balcony of her apartment at Via Adige, 23, in Milan. Her monumental, sculpted hands sit at the center of the painting, and behind and above her are the rooftops and factory buildings of the Piazza Trento and beyond. The Cubist energy of the composition is enhanced by an open window that reflects rays of light over her, illustrating simultaneous visual impressions of indoors and outdoors.

Biog. II

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UMBERTO BOCCIONI
Dynamism of a Soccer Player

gallery

Umberto Boccioni
Unique Forms of Continuity
Postcard

UMBERTO BOCCIONI

Portrait of a Seated Woman

sculptures

UMBERTO BOCCIONI
Futuristic Man

Sculpture

Superb. Sculpture derived from Unique forms of continuity in space (Forme uniche della continuita nello spazio) (1913)

• Medium: Collectible quality resin with hand-painted color details, matte and glossy finish
• Dimensions: 8 in. x 6 in. x 1 in.
• Condition: New in box
• Date of Creation: 1990-Now
• Origin: Europe
• Manufactured by: Parastone Mouseion