Umberto Boccioni, "Charge of the Lancers"

 

        This week we have a truly amazing and dynamic painting.   The artist is Umberto Boccioni (1882 - 1916).  From just this information you maybe able to guess two correct things:  he was Italian and his early death was a result of World War I.  But, his life was interesting and he made a huge impact on Art, especially painting and sculpture. I think it fair to consider him an intellectual.  He spent his short life traveling and studying.   He visited Russia and many of the countries of Europe, gleaning ideas and formulating his theories on art.   His principle contribution is called Futurism.  Futurism is difficult to explain as it involves the deconstruction of solid mass and showing movement, and it was certainly an outgrowth from the work of Picasso and Braque - cubism.  

      Many years ago, I had the pleasure of seeing an exhibit in Paris which contained many works by Picasso.  I had seen reproductions of his monochromatic collages done mostly in browns and always considered them kind of ugly.   But, I was truly "blown away" seeing an original.  There is nothing like the experience, and so I offer this suggestion to you this week.  When you have the opportunity to go to a museum, DO.  You, too, can have a delightful experience, confronting original Art.

     The title for this painting is: "Charge of the Lancers".   For accuracy, I looked up the meaning.  A lancer is a cavalry soldier armed with a lance, and a lance is a long wooden shaft with a pointed head used as a weapon, as a spear.  Boccioni completed this painting in 1915, the same year he volunteered service for the Italian army and saw combat.  Other than the lances, I can not identify much else in the painting, but the movement, the charge, is terrifyingly strong.  I do find the inclusion of the newspaper interesting.  I can only guess that the writing hints at a specific battle.   

    In the year following when this painting was completed, 1916, Boccioni was drafted into the Italian Army and on August 16th of that year he was thrown from his horse during cavalry training and trampled.   He died the following day.

   "Charge of the Lancers" was painted in 1915.   It is in a private collection in Milan, Italy.  Little information is available about it's size and media, but I think we can feel confident it is an oil painting with some collage elements.  

   Make Art a part of your life, it's a beautiful thing to do.        

Comments

  1. Char HarguthFebruary 1, 2022 at 7:25 AM

    I could hear the rattling of lances, until I read that they were wooden! But what a forceful painting, by an artist familiar with his subject. I look to see familiar objects other than the pieces of newsprint, but what I see is a carefully executed attack. The monochromatic colors add to the tenuous atmosphere. I'm guessing the circular patterns represent shields. It is an interesting painting in which to study the details and the gradations of color. I do like the color palette.

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