Giacomo Balla (18 July 1871 – 1 March 1958) was an Italian painter, art teacher and poet best known as a key proponent of

Futurism Futurism ( it, Futurismo, link=no) was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy, and to a lesser extent in other countries, in the early 20th century. It emphasized dynamism, speed, technology, youth, violence, and objects suc ...

. In his paintings he depicted light, movement and speed. He was concerned with expressing movement in his works, but unlike other leading futurists he was not interested in machines or violence with his works tending towards the witty and whimsical.

Biography

Giacomo Balla was born in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, in the

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

region of

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. He was the son of a photographer and as a child studied music. At age nine, after the death of his father, he gave up music and began working in a

lithograph Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

print shop. By age 20, his interest in visual art had developed to such a level that he decided to study painting at local academies, and several of his early works were shown at exhibitions. Following academic studies at the

University of Turin The University of Turin (Italian language, Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Torino'', UNITO) is a public university, public research university in the city of Turin, in the Piedmont (Italy), Piedmont region of Italy. It is one of the List ...

, Balla moved to Rome in 1895, where he met and later married Elisa Marcucci. For several years he worked in Rome as an illustrator, caricaturist and portrait painter. In 1899, his work was exhibited at the

Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...

, and in the ensuing years his art was shown at major exhibitions in Rome and Venice, as well as in Munich, Berlin and Düsseldorf, at the

Salon d'Automne The Salon d'Automne (; en, Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris, France. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The ...

in Paris, and at galleries in Rotterdam. Around 1902, he taught Divisionist techniques to Umberto Boccioni and Gino Severini. Influenced by

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (; 22 December 1876 – 2 December 1944) was an Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement. He was associated with the utopian and Symbolist artistic and literary community Abbaye d ...

, Giacomo Balla adopted the

style, creating a pictorial depiction of light, movement and speed. He was a signatory of the Futurist Manifesto in 1910. Typical for his new style of painting is ''

Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash ''Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash'' (Italian: ''Dinamismo di un cane al guinzaglio''), sometimes called ''Dog on a Leash'' or ''Leash in Motion'', is a 1912 painting by Italian Futurist painter Giacomo Balla. It was influenced by the artist's fasci ...

'' (1912) and his 1914 work ''

Abstract Speed + Sound Abstract may refer to: * ''Abstract'' (album), 1962 album by Joe Harriott * Abstract of title a summary of the documents affecting title to parcel of land * Abstract (law), a summary of a legal document * Abstract (summary), in academic publishin ...

'' (Velocità astratta + rumore). In 1914, he began to design Futurist furniture, as well as so-called Futurist "antineutral" clothing. Balla also began working as a sculptor, creating, in 1915, the well-known work titled ''Boccioni's Fist'', based on 'lines of force' (Linee di forza del pugno di Boccioni). During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Balla's studio became a meeting place for young artists. In 1935, he was made a member of Rome's Accademia di San Luca. In 1955, Balla participated in the documenta 1 in Kassel. He died on 1 March 1958.

Notable works

Balla's 1909 painting '' The Street Light'' typifies his exploration of light, atmosphere, and motion. Balla's most famous works, such as his 1912 ''

'', aim to express movement – and thus the passage of time – through the medium of painting. One of Balla's main inspirations was the

chronophotography Chronophotography is a photographic technique from the Victorian era which captures a number of phases of movements. The best known chronophotography works were mostly intended for the scientific study of locomotion, to discover practical inform ...

of Étienne-Jules Marey.Marta Braun: Giacomo Balla, Anton Giulio Bragaglia, and Etienne-Jules Marey. In: Vivien Greene (ed.): Italian Futurism 1909 - 1944. Reconstructing the Universe, Guggenheim Museum 2014, p.95-101 Braun states (p.96): "For Balla, perhaps the most photo-literate of the Futurist painters, both Marey's scientific analyses and Bragaglia's blurred trajectories presented an opportunity to move beyond his earlier, more realistic works." Balla's 1912 '' The Hand of the Violinist'' depicts the frenetic motion of a musician playing, and draws on inspiration from Cubism and the photographic experiments of Marey and Eadweard Muybridge. In his abstract 1912–1914 series '' Iridescent Interpenetration'', Balla attempts to separate the experience of light from the perception of objects as such. ''

'' (1913–14) is a study of speed symbolised by the automobile. Originally, it may have been part of a triptych. Balla's 1914 series ''

Mercury Passing Before the Sun ''Mercury Passing Before the Sun'' ( it, Mercurio transita davanti al sole or ''Mercurio (che) passa davanti al sole'') is the title of a series of paintings by Italian Futurist painter Giacomo Balla, depicting the November 17, 1914 transit of M ...

'' depicts the November 17, 1914 transit of Mercury across the face of the Sun. Balla created at least a dozen versions and studies of this work.

Legacy

In 1987, some of his artworks were exhibited at ''

documenta ''documenta'' is an exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. The ''documenta'' was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgartenschau (Federal Horticultural ...

8'', an exhibition of

modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

and

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic ...

which takes place every five years in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel and the district of the same name and had 201,048 inhabitants in December 2020 ...

, Germany.

References

External links

Guide to Balla's paintings
at Artcyclopedia
Abstract Speed + Sound'' by Giacomo Balla, Guggenheim Museum

Giacomo Balla's Biography- Guggenheim Museum

Article on Italian Futurism exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balla, Giacomo 1871 births 1958 deaths 19th-century Italian composers 19th-century Italian painters 19th-century Italian male musicians 20th-century Italian composers 20th-century Italian painters 20th-century Italian male musicians Abstract painters Futurist composers Balla 01 Italian fascists Balla01 Balla 01 Italian male composers Italian male painters Modern painters Artists from Turin 19th-century Italian male artists 20th-century Italian male artists

Biography

Notable works

Legacy

See also

References

Further reading

External links