Futurism: Italian Avant-Garde Art Movement

Futurism was the most important and influential Italian avant-garde art movement that took speed, technology and modernity as its inspiration which emerged from the 20h century (The Art Story, 2016). The group of the Futurists loved speed, noise, machines, pollution, and urban landscapes; they were committed to change in Italy as the country was behind in comparison to the rest of Europe. Futurism was not about visual or traditional art, they were fascinated by new visual technology and used it as an important influence to show movement in painting. The movement was launched in 1909 by the initiator and poet Fillippo Tommaso Marinetti with the publication of the Futurist Manifesto on the front page of a French newspaper Le Figaro. In the manifesto, …show more content…
In his sculptural work, the Futurist themes are most profound and demonstrated. The unknown figure in Boccioni’s sculptural work Unique Forms of Continuity in Space is aerodynamically deformed by speed. The Futurists aimed to portray modern life in the modern world, and in particular what they saw as its dynamism was progress and speed. Unique Forms of Continuity in Space is full of this exciting forceful movement forward, which is apparent from the body of this unknown figure. The sculpture is placed on two strong bases used as platforms to suspend the figure (Prezi, 2013). The figure’s forward movement represents its eagerness to move onward into the …show more content…
He was a painter, graphic artist and sculptor born in Cortona on 7th April, 1883. In 1899, Severini travelled to Rome to attend evening classes at the Villa Medici. Shortly after he had a significant encounter with Giacomo Balla and Umberto Boccioni, he began working as a practicing artist in 1901. Balla introduced him to the Divisionistic colour technique of the Neo-Impressionists. Gino Severini moved to Paris in 1906 where he studied Impressionism. Severini was fascinated with Seurat’s paintings and met Signac. He encountered various poets and artists of his time. Marinetti and Boccioni invited him to join the Futurist-movement. On 11 February 1910 Severini signed the 'Manifesto of Futurist Painting' and became a co-founder of this style alongside Boccioni. In comparison to his art colleagues, Severini was barely interested in the dynamic of machines, but in depiction of human bodies in motion. His cabaret scenes and depictions of dancers were made during this period. Works like Blue Dancer (1912) show the typical Futurist principles of faceting and simultaneous