L'Anno del Futurismo

If you read the blog for any length of time, you may know that my favorite movement in Italian art is Futurismo, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.

In fact, the original text that launched the political philosophy, of which the art movement was a part, was published on this day in 1909 in Le Figaro.

Some of the key figures in the art movement that was part of Futurismo are painters Umberto Boccioni, Giacomo Balla and Carlo Carrà.

Cultural groups across Italy have already begun marking the occasion with exhibits and other activities.

Milan, the city where Futurismo was born, is taking the lead with a number of key exhibits, including one at the Palazzo Reale called "Futurismo 1909-2009 Velocità + Arte + Azione."

The exhibit will include 400 paintings, drawings, photos and works of sculpture, among other objects. There will also be another exhibit called "Futurismo 100: Simultaneità," at Palazzo Reale that launches in October.

There's also an exhibit at Palazzo delle Stelline about Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the thinker behind the movement which was concerned primarily with modernity, speed and industrialism.

If you plan to be in Milan, definitely take part. If nothing else, you could wander over to the Pinacoteca di Brera, which has as part of its permanent collection some of Boccioni's masterpieces.

Can't go to Milan? Well the Museum of Modern Art in New York owns several key Boccioni sculptures as well as other Futurist works.