The Art of Futurism, Giacomo Balla & An Intimate Portrait
Giacomo Balla had a long life and artistic career, but his definitive period belonged to a time when art movements were sprouting in every corner of Europe. In the first decade of the twentieth century, Cubism and Fauvism had taken Paris by storm. Artists across Europe were forming collectives, writing disruptive manifestos and launching movements of their own. In 1909 a charismatic Italian poet named Fillippo Marinetti wrote the Futurist Manifesto and bandied a group of followers which included artists like Umberto Boccioni and Carlo Carrà. The group disowned the decadent life that had come to symbolise the Victorian age in Britain and La Bellè Epoque in France at the turn of the century. Instead they espoused the destruction of antiquated institutions like museums and libraries that they considered obsolescent, and embracing of all things modern and technological. They were particularly fascinated by light, motion and speed, perhaps influenced by the development of moving image photography coupled with automobiles which was happening at the same time.
Balla who had earlier toyed with Divisionism was influenced by the radical ideas of Marinetti and joined the group. Some of his famous ‘Futuristic’ works are ‘Street Light’ (now at MoMA, New York), ‘Abstract Speed + Sound’ (now at Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice) and ‘Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash’. The Futurists were anarchic and while they made quite an impact in both in Paris and London, reality changed irrevocably with the start of the First World War, which also caused the death of Boccioni. After the war, Marinetti and Carrà joined the fascists and the movement dissipated as some relapsed to more figurative styles. Soon it was time for the new kid on the block, Surrealism to charm the western art world.
This painting of Balla, Il Dubbio (The Doubt), that I want to share from my visit to the Gallery of Modern Art in Rome in 2019 is however unrelated to Futurism that he is more closely associated with. It is from 1907–08 and shortly predates that transition. Neither is it an example of divisionism in line with his earlier forays. It is a remarkable portrait that is almost academic in its approach and seems to stand out defiantly in the face of the all-engulfing flames of modernism. The expressive glint of the left eye that sparkles off the cheeks and the angular pose with the bare back accentuate a strong sense of chiaroscuro. The cropped framing of the subject derived the influence of photography heightens the already prevailing sense of intimacy.
I had just finished a figure drawing summer program in the academic style in Florence that summer. Hence although I was visiting a museum of Modern Art, this figurative work by Balla left quite an impression. The curatorial placement of the painting as the cul-de-sac in an assortment of female portraits seductively draws you in, leaving you no choice to be captivated by her charm! Unlike the title of the painting, that happens without a doubt!
