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Licensed Unlicensed Requires Authentication Published by De Gruyter 2018

Umberto Boccioni and Science: A Reassessment

From the book Volume 8 2018

  • Maria Elena Versari

Abstract

The relationship between Futurism and science has been a topic of debate for quite some time. Already in 1913, for example, Luciano Luziani published an article titled: “What do the Futurists Think of Science?” The question, although vague, was relevant, since F. T. Marinetti, Umberto Boccioni and the other Futurists repeatedly referred to scientific investigations in their manifestos and writings. While several scholars have addressed the relationship between Futurism and science, and have tried to demonstrate a direct influence of the most varied scientific and para-scientific ideas on Boccioni’s work and theories, information on the way in which the Futurists, and Boccioni in particular, appropriated scientific knowledge remains incomplete. Little has been done, in particular, to clarify the way in which Boccioni appropriated the language of scientific research in order to establish a new aesthetic lexicon, and how this lexicon changed over time. Similarly, these studies fail to take into consideration the role that recent artistic trends in Italy, such as Divisionism, played in Boccioni’s early scientific appropriations. Based on new archival research, this essay aims to clarify the issue by dispelling some myths surrounding Boccioni’s relationship with scientific and esoteric theories, investigating some of his more probable linguistic and theoretical sources, and demonstrating how his attitude toward science informed his art.

© 2018 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Munich/Boston
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