The Adaptation and Rejection of Divisionism in Futurism 1910-1913

Medvigy, Yuko

Item

The Adaptation and Rejection of Divisionism in Futurism 1910-1913

Medvigy, Yuko

Abstract

Futurism was born in Milan in 1909 as a literary movement, and its principal goal was toinvigorate Italy culturally and politically in the aftermath of the Risorgimento. The threeMilanese painters Boccioni, Carrà and Russolo, along with Severini in Paris and Balla inRome, joined the movement initiated by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti a year later withvague ideas about what their new art was to look like. One thing they were not vagueabout was Divisionism, which they declared was absolutely essential and necessary fortheir art. For them, Divisionism provided an ideal solution for expressing the speed anddynamism of modern technology, which aligned with Marinetti’s foundational manifesto.This thesis examines the foundational years of Futurist painting from 1910 to 1913 toelucidate how Divisionism was adapted by the Futurist painters to achieve Futuristaesthetic, and what caused it to be abandoned by 1913. For this investigation, Ball’sLampada ad arco is analyzed in detail, using Boccioni’s paintings from the same periodas comparative material. Balla was the most experienced in Divisionism and Boccioniwas the leader of the group, thus how they interpreted Futurist dynamism with relation toDivisionism is central to this investigation. The primary sources for this investigationinclude the early Futurist manifestos and related art theories, and numerous publicationsby Futurism scholars are used as secondary sources. Divisionism was closely associatedwith the Lombard Symbolists whom the Futurist painters much admired, but theirencounter with Cubism in late 1911 drastically changed the artistic direction of the groupand led them to a more philosophical analysis and new developments of their art.Collectively, the Futurist painters began moving away from the color-centric aesthetics ofDivisionism by 1912, which no longer satisfied their artistic needs and ambition.