Boccioni, Umberto

Boccioni, Umberto
born Oct. 19, 1882, Reggio di Calabria, Italy
died Aug. 16, 1916, Verona

Italian painter, sculptor, and theorist.

He was trained in the studio of Giacomo Balla (1871–1958) in Rome. The most energetic member of the Futurist group (See also Futurism), Boccioni helped publish Technical Manifesto of the Futurist Painters (1910), promoting the representation of modern technology, power, time, motion, and speed. These ideas are best shown in his masterpiece of early modern sculpture, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (1913). His painting The City Rises (1910) is a dynamic composition of swirling human figures in a fragmented crowd scene.

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▪ Italian painter
born October 19, 1882, Reggio di Calabria, Italy
died August 16, 1916, Verona

      Italian painter, sculptor, and theorist of the Futurist (Futurism) movement in art.

      Boccioni was trained from 1898 to 1902 in the studio of the painter Giacomo Balla (Balla, Giacomo), where he learned to paint in the manner of the Pointillists. In 1907 he settled in Milan and gradually came under the influence of the poet Filippo Marinetti (Marinetti, Filippo Tommaso), who launched the literary movement Futurism, which glorified the dynamism of modern technology. Boccioni adapted Marinetti's ideas to the visual arts and became the leading theoretician of Futurist art. In 1910 he and other painters drew up and published the “Technical Manifesto of the Futurist Painters,” promoting the representation of the symbols of modern technology—violence, power, and speed.

      Boccioni's first major Futurist painting, “Riot in the Gallery” (1909), remained close to Pointillism and showed an affiliation with Futurism mainly in its violent subject matter and dynamic composition. “The City Rises” (1910–11), however, is an exemplary Futurist painting in its representation of dynamism, motion, and speed. The swirling human figures in these crowd scenes are repetitively fragmented according to the Futurist style, but the rhythmic, muscular energy they generate is unrelated to the Futurist cult of the machine.

      Boccioni was probably influenced by Cubism in 1911–12, and about this time he also became interested in sculpture. In 1912 he published the “Manifesto of Futurist Sculpture,” several of whose suggestions anticipated developments in modern sculpture. Boccioni advocated the use in sculpture of non-traditional materials such as glass, wood, cement, cloth, and electric lights, and he called for the combination of a variety of materials in one piece of sculpture. He also envisioned a new type of sculpture that would mold and enclose the space within itself. In practice, however, Boccioni's sculpture was much more traditional than his theories. Only “Development of a Bottle in Space” (1912; see ) successfully creates a sculptural environment. His most famous work, “Unique Forms of Continuity in Space” (1913), is one of the masterpieces of early modern sculpture.

      Boccioni enlisted in the army during World War I and was killed by a fall from a horse in 1916. He was the most talented of the Futurist artists, and his untimely death marked the virtual end of the movement.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • BOCCIONI (U.) — BOCCIONI UMBERTO (1882 1916) «Il n’y a qu’une loi pour l’artiste, c’est la vie moderne et la sensibilité futuriste», écrivait Umberto Boccioni, qui est incontestablement, avec le poète Marinetti, le protagoniste le plus important et la figure la… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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  • Umberto — It. /oohm berdd taw/, n. See Humbert I. * * * (as used in expressions) Boccioni Umberto Eco Umberto Umberto II Umberto I * * * …   Universalium

  • Boccioni — Umberto Boccioni Autoportrait Umberto Boccioni, né le 19 octobre 1882 à Reggio de Calabre et mort le 16 août 1916 à Vérone, était un peintre et un sculpteur futuriste italien …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Umberto Boccioni — (October 19 1882 ndash; August 17 1916) was a painter and a sculptor. Like other Futurists, his work centered on the portrayal of movement (dynamism), speed, and technology. He was born in Reggio Calabria, Italy.Umberto Boccioni studied art… …   Wikipedia

  • Umberto Boccioni — (Regio de Calabria, 19 de octubre de 1882 Sorte, Veronaa, 17 de agosto de 1916) fue un pintor y escultor italiano, teórico y principal exponente del movimiento futurista. La ciudad se levanta, 1910, lienzo, 200 × 301 cm, Museo de Arte Moderno,… …   Wikipedia Español

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