ABSTRACT SPPED- THE CAR HAS PASSED Flashcards
DATE
1913
MEDIUM
oil on canvas
measurement
502 x 654 mm.
artist
Giacomo Balla
who was giacomo Balla AND what did his paintings usually depict
italian
painter art teacher and poet
Balla was a leading figure in the Italian Futurist group.
SUBJECT OF HIS PAINTINGS
In his paintings he depicted light, movement and speed
He believed that the power and speed of machines such as cars were the salient characteristics of the modern age and aimed to express this idea in his work.
what did the green and blue forms in this peice evoke
green and blue forms, evoking earth and sky, in the background.
what was this painting origionally part of
originally the right-hand part part of a triptych. The left-hand part of the triptych was called Lines of Force + Landscape and the central one Lines of Force + Noise.
The theme of the triptych was the passage of a car along a white road, with green and blue forms, evoking earth and sky, in the background.
what is the white in this peice
a white road
what are the pinkish hues meant to be
suggest the exhaust fumes left by the passing car.
what is the subject of this peice
see a simplified landscape of road, trees and sky - but the landscape is disturbed: a car has passed and what we see is the turbulence its passage has caused in the air and the fumes smell it leaves behind
which one of balla’s past peices shows his fascination with light
Balla, The Street Lamp: Study of Light, 1909
futurist manifesto quote
“We declare that the splendour of world has been enriched by a new beauty, the beauty of speed… A roaring car, that seems to ride on grapeshot, is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace!” Futurist Manifesto , by Marinetti
THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THIS PEICE RECALLS THE FUTURIST MANIFESTO
how did balla’s interests develop in 1912
-Up to 1912 Balla had been fascinated by the depiction of the splintering of light
-From the end of 1912 he became increasingly interested in the exploration of movement in painting and, more specifically, the speed of racing automobiles
-his led to an important series of studies in 1912–14: on the speed of automobiles
how did Marinetti (who created the futurist manifesto) describe his car
he described as a ‘snorting beast’ with ‘hot breasts’
KEY DATES RELATING TO CAR DEVELOPMENT
*1885 Motor car invented
*1893 First Ford car
*1895 First motor race
*First FIAT car (Italian) made in 1899
*1913 Mass production of Ford cars
HOW WAS BALLA USING AN UNTRADITIONAL SUBJECT MATTER
Balla is painting an untraditional subject in a traditional genre (landscape) and traditional format (triptych)
-untraditional subject matter as it was painted in 1913, and the mass production of ford cars only started in 1913
how does balla adhere to marinetti’s rejection of the past
uses industrialisation and the machine age as subject matter to break from traditional subject matter
He is responding to Marinetti’s wholesale rejection of the past: past subject and past styles
(Marinetti had invited a “total modernisation of contemporary culture in line with the advances in technology, philosophy and politics”)
critical quote on how marinetto caused a modernisation of contemporary culture
(Marinetti had invited a “total modernisation of contemporary culture in line with the advances in technology, philosophy and politics”)
what were the other works in the triptych, where was this work positioned
-positioned on the far right
-other works were:
Lines of Force + Landscape 1913 Lines of Force + Noise 1913
why did he choose a triptych (critical quote)
By creating a series of three panels Balla aims to…
“put the spectator in the centre of the picture” (Manifesto of the Futurist Painters, 1910 - which Balla contributed to)
what was the effect of the triptych
This immersive effect is also enhanced by the fact that all three of the original frames were painted with continuations of the forms and colours of the compositions, implying the overflow of the paintings’ reality into the spectator’s own space
what is the treatment of form in this peice
-abstracted form
-fragmented and curved, (sharp edged panels adapted from cubism)
-Overlapping and interpenetrating forms
-Segmental and curved forms suggest the cleaving (blending) of land and air - like in Cubist works the distinction between an object and its surroundings is lost
-Dissolved outlines and broken forms to suggest movement
how do we know cubism influenced the fragmented form
INFLUENCE OF CUBISM SEEN IN THIS WORK
*In our work the influence of Cubism is seen in the abstracted and fragmented forms
*Segmental and curved forms suggest the cleaving (blending) of land and air - like in Cubist works the distinction between an object and its surroundings is lost
*Interpenetrating planes suggests multi-viewpoint perspective, influence of Cubism
VISIT TO PARIS
*Influence of CUBISM: 1911 Futurists travel to Paris - paid for by Marinetti
*In 1911 - Braque and Picasso are immersed in the complex phase of Analytical Cubism
*At this stage Russolo, Carra, Boccioni and Severini visit the studios of Braque and Picasso
-Balla is not in this company ; however he would have absorbed the Cubist influence from the work of the other futurists who had visited Paris
HOW IS MOVEMENT SUGGESTED IN THIS PEICE
*Dissolved outlines and broken forms to suggest movement
