|
Italian
version
Giacomo
Balla:
The artist was born in
Turin on July 18th 1871 and died in Rome on March 1st 1958.
Formation
His father was an industrial chemist and an enthusiastic amateur
photographer. Balla, who was essentially self-taught, in 1891 frequented
a course for a short period at the Albertina Academy in Turin, where he
made the acquaintance of Pilade Bertieri who introduced him to Pellizza
da Volpedo.
Paris
In 1895 he went to live in Rome, following the educationalist
Alessandro Marcucci, brother of his future wife, Elisa. In September
1900 Balla went to Paris to visit the ”Exposition Universelle” and
remained there several months working for the illustrator Sergio
Macchiati. Upon his return to Italy he became an active divulger of the
pointillism technique: Severini, Boccioni and Sironi were among his
followers.
Positivist
His paintings of positivist inspiration combined humanitarian themes
with scientific interest, having both natural and artificial light
effects. Work is a recurring subject in his art, at times having an
almost reverential implication as in the case of his triptych “The
Workman’s Day” (La giornata dell’operaio)
Futurist works
Balla was among those who signed the Manifesto of the Futurist artists
and the technical Manifesto of futurist art in 1910. In spite of his
adhesion to modern themes, until 1912 he continued with his pointillist
style as in his painting “The Arc Lamp” (Lampada ad arco) of 1909, a
work included in the catalogue of the futurist exhibition of 1912 at the
Galerie Berhnheim-Jeune in Paris, although in fact it was not exhibited
there. Right from the start, his interest in science, the
chronophotography of Etienne Jules Marey and the photodynamic works of
Anton Giulio Bragaglia induced Balla to follow a very different style
and idea of futurism to that of Boccioni.
“Abstract speed”
His later futurist works, like “Child running on the balcony” (Bambina
che corre sul balcone) and “The hands of the violinist” (Le mani del
violinista) (1912) show a new direction of his search in the breaking
down of the movement into further stages. The same year when engaged to
decorate the house of Lowenstein, Balla went to Dusseldorf where he
started a series of abstract works, the “Iridescent permeations”
(Compenetrazioni iridescenti) that reduced the effect of light and speed
to the hermetic purity of geometric forms. The first “Abstract Speed”
(Velocità astratte) works portraying cars racing along at high speeds
and swallows in flight, are dated the end of 1913.
The theatre and futurism
In 1914 he took part as actor and art director in theatrical
performances of Francesco Cangiullo, and composed “Words at liberty”
(Parole in libertà). In 1915, together with Depero he published the
futurist reconstruction of the universe manifesto that augured an
aesthetic futurist application to fashion, decor and all other aspects
of modern life. Together they produced a series of non -figurative
constructions, or plastic art, in cardboard, sheet metal, silk and other
every day materials. Between 1914 and 1915 Balla composed the interview
display cycle, in which he declaimed the futurist artists’ patriotic
enthusiasm for Italy’s entry into the war. During the war years his
study became the meeting place for young artists. In 1917 he designed
the scenes for Segei Diaghilev ‘s Fireworks ballet, with music by Igor
Stravinski.
Decorative art
With increasing passion, Balla dedicated himself to decorative art, and
in 1920 opened his Nicolò Porpora house to exhibit the first vividly
coloured setting. Between 1921 and 1922 he designed the Tic-Tac Bal – a
dance hall in futurist style, and in 1925 with Depero and Prampolini he
took part at the Exposition des arts dècoratifs (decorative art
exhibition) in Paris. He was so struck by Rodchenko and El Lissitsk’s
Russian pavilion and “L’Esprit Nouveau” pavilion of Le Corbusier that
this inspired him to create constructivist-inspired works such as
“Enamoured numbers” (Numeri innamorati) in 1923, which is also close to
the mechanical images of Ivo Pannaggi and Vinicio Paladini.
Critical documents
For a short period Balla followed the second futurism of Filippo
Tommaso Marinetti signing the aero-painting Manifesto in 1929 and
participating at the first futurist aero-painting Exhibition in Rome in
1931. However, his style was by this time directed toward a naturalistic
representation, as became evident at his personal exhibition at the
Collectors and Connoisseurs Society (Società Amatori e Cultori) in Rome
in 1929-30.
Absolute realism
At the end of the ‘thirties, Balla broke away from futurism, convinced
that pure art has to express absolute realism, without which it would
fall into an ornamental and decorative form. In spite of a brief period
of success in the ‘fifties, during which his futurist works were
esteemed by the younger generation of abstract painters, the “Origin”
group, who arranged an exhibition of his works in 1951, Balla’s style
remained figurative until his death. |
