From Publishers Weekly
A leading Futurist painter and sculptor, Umberto Boccioni (1887-1916) was attracted to subjects like speed, violence and automobile travel long before the movement's birth. This superbly illustrated catalogue of a retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City traces his development through early portraits of great sensitivity and depth, luminous landscapes, to the oils, graphics and bronzes that seem to strip motion down into its dynamic constituent parts. Boccioni's meteoric rise ended abruptly in 1916 when he died in a fall from a horse, a trajectory that parallels the Futurists' history. He concocted diverse theories, including "physical transcendentalism," or moving beyond the palpable properties of things, a concept which seems to illuminate his most kinetic and mysterious works. This album includes an essay by Coen, a Rome-based scholar; it also reprints Futurist manifestoes and excerpts from Boccioni's diary.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Umberto Boccioni, a leader of the Futurist movement, is here captured for the American reader. This handsome publication documents the first retrospective exhibition of Boccioni's art in this country. Complementing the colored plates and descriptive catalog are an insightful biography, the text of Boccioni's most important writings, and a scholarly discourse on Futurism. The spirit and energy of Boccioni's works come to life and Futurism's contribution to modern art is reaffirmed. This book is an excellent addition to the study of Italy's most influential art movement in the early 20th century. Highly recommended. Suzanne J. Peterson, SUNY at Cortland Lib.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
