Dynamism of a Cyclist
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''Dynamism of a Cyclist'' (''Dinamismo di un Ciclista'') is a 1913 painting by Italian
Futurist Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...
artist
Umberto Boccioni Umberto Boccioni (, ; 19 October 1882 – 17 August 1916) was an influential Italian painter and sculptor. He helped shape the revolutionary aesthetic of the Futurism movement as one of its principal figures. Despite his short life, his approach ...
(1882–1916) that demonstrates the Futurist fascination with speed, modern methods of transport, and the depiction of the dynamic sensation of movement.


Background

Futurism was an early twentieth-century movement in Italy that sought to free the country from what the Futurists saw as the dead weight of its classical past. The Futurists were preoccupied with the technology and dynamism of modern life. The movement found its expression primarily in literature and art.


Subject and composition

Boccioni's preparatory drawings for the painting (two shown below) depict a head-down racing cyclist, behind in the air, his movement indicated by the characteristic Futurist "force lines" and echoing curves. Force lines, which the Futurists claimed to have invented, show how an object would resolve itself if it followed the tendencies of its own forces Heard Hamilton, George. (1993) ''Painting and Sculpture in Europe 1880–1940''. 6th edition. New Haven:
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...
and reflected the interest of the Futurists in the philosophy of
Henri Bergson Henri-Louis Bergson (; 18 October 1859 – 4 January 1941) was a French philosopherHenri Bergson. 2014. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 13 August 2014, from https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61856/Henri-Bergson
, who believed that material objects exist in a state of continual flux. The painting is therefore an attempt to represent the dynamic sensation of a cyclist moving through time and space rather than a snap-shot of a particular moment in time. The bicycle, figure, and the surrounding space seemingly fuse together in a single form. Although the bicycle had been invented in the early nineteenth century, it did not come into widespread use until the 1890s. Even in 1913, the bicycle, and the high speeds obtainable on it, still represented for the Futurists one of the modern forms of transport that they idealised.Umberto Boccioni.
Peggy Guggenheim Collection The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is one of the most visited attractions in Venice. The collection is housed in the , an 18th-century palace, which was the home ...
. Retrieved 10 February 2015.
In the final work, the lines of the preparatory drawings are translated into curves and cones, outlined using Boccioni's characteristic
divisionist Divisionism, also called chromoluminarism, was the characteristic style in Neo-Impressionist painting defined by the separation of colors into individual dots or patches which interacted optically..Homer, William I. ''Seurat and the Science of ...
technique. This technique was primarily derived from the early Futurist
Giacomo Balla Giacomo Balla (18 July 1871 – 1 March 1958) was an Italian painter, art teacher and poet best known as a key proponent of Futurism. In his paintings he depicted light, movement and speed. He was concerned with expressing movement in his works, ...
. Boccioni, after visiting Parisian
avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...
painters, added new elements to the style, including the typical
Cubist Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...
segmentation of planes. The discordant colour choices reflect the failure of the Futurists to develop a coherent colour theory to match their theories in other areas.Little, Stephen. (2004) ''Isms: Understanding Art''. London: Herbert Press, pp. 108–109. File:Umberto Boccioni, Dynamism of a Cyclist (detail), 1913.jpg, Sketch for ''Dynamism of a Cyclist'', 1913.
Estorick Collection The Estorick Collection of Modern Italian Art is a museum in Canonbury Square in the district of Islington on the northern fringes of central London. It is the United Kingdom's only gallery devoted to modern Italian art and is a registered ch ...
, London. File:Umberto Boccioni, Dynamism of a Cyclist sketch 1913.jpg, Sketch for ''Dynamism of a Cyclist'', 1913 File:Dynamism of a Cyclist, Boccioni, detail.jpg, Detail of ''Dynamism of a Cyclist'' showing the use of divisionism


Related works

This work is one of a series of "dynamism" paintings he created in 1913, including ''Dynamism of a Human Body'', ''The Dynamism of a Soccer Player'', ''Dynamism of a Footballer'', and ''Plastic Dynamism: Horse + Houses''. In these paintings, Boccioni utilized a more vivid color palette than in his previous works, and his application of the paint was thicker and denser. The
Russian Futurists Russian Futurism is the broad term for a movement of Russian poets and artists who adopted the principles of Filippo Marinetti's "Manifesto of Futurism," which espoused the rejection of the past, and a celebration of speed, machinery, violence, ...
explored many of the same themes as the Italians.
Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (russian: Ната́лья Серге́евна Гончаро́ва, p=nɐˈtalʲjə sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡənʲtɕɪˈrovə; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designe ...
's ''
Cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
'' (1913) includes some of the same techniques for portraying movement used by Boccioni and the other Futurists, although the work is far more directly representational than ''Dynamism of a Cyclist'' and much less ambitious."The Futurists’ Futile Chase After Motion".
Souren Melikian, ''
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'', 19 June 2009. Retrieved 11 February 2015.
File:Metzinger cycle track.jpg,
Jean Metzinger Jean Dominique Antony Metzinger (; 24 June 1883 – 3 November 1956) was a major 20th-century French painter, theorist, writer, critic and poet, who along with Albert Gleizes wrote the first theoretical work on Cubism. His earliest works, from 1 ...
, '' At the Cycle-Race Track (Au Vélodrome)'', 1912, oil and sand on canvas, 130.4 x 97.1 cm,
Peggy Guggenheim Collection The Peggy Guggenheim Collection is an art museum on the Grand Canal in the Dorsoduro ''sestiere'' of Venice, Italy. It is one of the most visited attractions in Venice. The collection is housed in the , an 18th-century palace, which was the home ...
, Venice File:WLA moma Umberto Boccioni Dynamism of a Soccer Player 1913.jpg, Umberto Boccioni, ''Dynamism of a Footballer'', 1913, oil on canvas,
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York File:Umberto Boccioni, 1913, Synthèse du dynamisme humain (Synthesis of Human Dynamism), location unknown, destroyed.jpg, Umberto Boccioni, ''Synthesis of Human Dynamism'', 1913. Destroyed File:Cyclist (Goncharova, 1913).jpg,
Natalia Goncharova Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova (russian: Ната́лья Серге́евна Гончаро́ва, p=nɐˈtalʲjə sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡənʲtɕɪˈrovə; 3 July 188117 October 1962) was a Russian avant-garde artist, painter, costume designe ...
, ''
Cyclist Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from two ...
'', 1913, oil on canvas, 78 x 105 cm,
State Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (russian: Государственный Русский музей), formerly the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (russian: Русский Музей Императора Александра III), on ...
, St. Petersburg


See also

*
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...


References


External links


Four studies for ''Dynamism of a Cyclist'', 1913
{{Umberto Boccioni Paintings by Umberto Boccioni Futurist paintings 1913 paintings Peggy Guggenheim Collection Bicycles in art