Umberto Boccioni, "Visioni Simultanee"

   Here is something quite fun for this week.   I urge you to take a good look, as it has lots in it. 

   Our artist is Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916), a very gifted Italian who took an early interest in art.  He traveled and studied with the best and most advanced artists and instructors of his day; and with others, he started a movement in Italy which came to be known as Futurism.  The movement was small at first, but after a trip to Paris, and seeing the cubistic work of Braque and Picasso, Futurism took off,  gaining strength and followers. 

  Life was changing rapidly.   The Industrial Revolution, studies in photography and political events were all influencing how intellectuals such as Boccioni were interpreting life and the fluctuations in it.  Most Futuristic works studied moving objects like new locomotion, but also bicycles, horses, running figures, and here, a busy street. 

   So what have we here?  It is certainly a unique concept.  Our subject seems to be looking out the window of a very tall building.  In 1911 most European buildings were not much over 6 - 7 stories high, unless they were very new.  Steel beams to support skyscrapers were still not widely in use.   So our subject is near the top looking down into a busy street.  Her reflection tells us there must be glass between her and her view.    

   I find it interesting to compare this painting with a cubist portrait by Picasso.   The two movements are very close, but different.  Picasso used cubism to show emotion and different sides of a face. He very effectively distorted the figure to his advantage, but here, Boccioni has created very little distortion.  The face in particular has been built into circular, triangular shapes, but all is beautifully in place.   The remainder of the painting is a swirl of movement built on triangles and curves.    

   Boccioni lived a short life.  He was drafted into the Italian army at the beginning of World War I and during training was thrown from his horse and trampled.  He died shortly after, at age 33. 

   Besides painting, he was also a gifted sculptor.  

  Visioni Simultanee is an oil on canvas.  It measures 23.8" by 23.8" so is a square, which is quite a unique format.   It is part of the permanent collection of the Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal, Germany.   I did check out this museum's website, but it came up in German so my time limits discouraged further investigation.

   Make Art a part of your life, its a beautiful thing to do.