The City Rises by Umberto Boccioni | Image Source: en.wikipedia.org
Origin of the Futurism
Futurism was officially launched on February 20, 1909, when Filippo Tommaso Marinetti published his ‘Manifesto of Futurism’. The manifesto praised the beauty of speed, machinery, youth and war and called for a total break from classical art and culture.
Marinetti’s ideas inspired several Italian artists including Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla, Gino Severini and Carlo Carrà, who sought to turn these revolutionary thoughts into modern figurative art. The movement began in Milan but quickly spread to Turin, Naples and other parts of Europe. Artists, writers, sculptors and architects were drawn to this movement.
Essence of Futurism
Futurist artists wanted to express the dynamic motion of modern life. They were influenced by Cubism’s intersecting planes and Fauvism’s vivid colours, but used these elements to create art that pulsed with speed and power.
In 1911, Futurist painters showcased their work at the Mostra d’arte libera in Milan. Their paintings had thread-like brushstrokes and deep, glowing colours and often depicted fragmented, fast-moving space. They focussed on machines, industry and modern urban life, rather than traditional subjects like portraits or landscapes.
Futurists also admired war, seeing it as a force of renewal. Their artworks celebrated the energy of construction, manual labour and even chaotic conflict, using broken forms and aggressive compositions to show action and movement.
In sculpture, Umberto Boccioni’s ‘Unique Forms of Continuity in Space’ (1913) was a breakthrough—a human-like form striding forwards with powerful, machine-like force. This iconic work became one of the best-known symbols of Futurism.
By the end of 1913, the movement began to lose unity, as artists developed their own directions. The Russian version of Futurism took on a distinct form, separate from its Italian roots.
Identifying Futurism
Futurist artwork can be recognised by:
- Subjects in motion: figures or objects seem to blur or move rapidly.
- Fragmented and intersecting planes: inspired by Cubism, used to create a sense of speed.
- Bold, vibrant colours: to heighten emotion and dynamism.
- Modern themes: such as cities, machines, war and technology.
- Abstract forms: used to express power, noise or action.
- Chrono-photographic influence: a technique that captures movement through sequential frames, much like early animation.
FAMOUS CUBIST ARTISTS & THEIR WORKS
Umberto Boccioni
- Boccioni was a leading painter and sculptor of the movement.
- His work, ‘The City Rises’ (1910) shows the chaos of construction and movement.
- His sculpture, ‘Unique Forms of Continuity in Space’ (1913) captures the bold stride of modern man as machine.
Gino Severini
- Severini introduced the idea of using dynamic rhythm, urban nightlife and dance as ways to express movement.
- His compositions often included dancers, musical instruments and Parisian scenes, bursting with swirling lines, vivid colour and repeated shapes.
- His painting, ‘Dancer at Pigalle’ (1912) captures rhythmic motion and the colour of city life.
Carlo Carrà
- Carrà used dynamic lines, fractured space and bold diagonals to express movement and energy, much like his fellow Futurists.
- He created large-scale drama-tic scenes like ‘Funeral of the Anarchist Galli’ (1911), a powerful depiction of political unrest rendered through diagonal lines and broken shapes.
- He was known for his emotionally intense, movement-filled paintings.
Giacomo Balla
- Balla was known for exploring motion through the use of repeated patterns.
- Inspired by chrono-photography, he captured movement through repetition, where several moments are shown in one frozen image.
- His famous painting, ‘Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash’ (1912) blurs limbs and movement using multiplication of forms.
Dipika Gurnaney studied at the Sir JJ School of Fine Arts and
is a recipient of a scholarship from the Pont Aven School
of Contemporary Art in France. Dipika has been teaching
children art since 2002.
