Futurism was a 20th century art movement, not to be confused with Futurist - trend watching.

Although a nascent Futurism can be seen surfacing throughout the very early years of the twentieth century, the 1907 essay Entwurf einer neuen Ästhetik der Tonkunst (Sketch of a New Aesthetic of Music) by the Italian composer Ferruccio Busoni is sometimes claimed as its true jumping-off point.

Exploring Art Style

Futurism was a largely Italian and Russian movement although it also had adherents in other countries.

Exploring Every Medium of Art

The Futurists explored every medium of art, including painting, sculpture, poetry, theatre, music, architecture and even gastronomy. The Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti was the first among them to produce a manifesto of their artistic philosophy in his Manifesto of Futurism (1909), first released in Milan and published in the French paper Le Figaro (February 20). Marinetti summed up the major principles of the Futurists, including a passionate loathing of ideas from the past, especially political and artistic traditions. He and others also espoused a love of speed, technology and violence.

The car, the plane, the industrial town were all legendary for the Futurists, because they represented the technological triumph of man over nature.

Milanese Painters

Marinetti's impassioned polemic immediately attracted the support of the young Milanese painters —Boccioni, Carrà, and Russolo—who wanted to extend Marinetti's ideas to the visual arts (Russolo was also a composer, and introduced Futurist ideas into his compositions).

The painters Balla and Severini met Marinetti in 1910 and together these artists represented Futurism's first phase.

The italian painter and sculptor Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916) wrote the Manifesto of Futurist Painters in 1910 in which he vowed:

“ We will fight with all our might the fanatical, senseless and snobbish religion of the past, a religion encouraged by the vicious existence of museums. We rebel against that spineless worshipping of old canvases, old statues and old bric-a-brac, against everything which is filthy and worm-ridden and corroded by time. We consider the habitual contempt for everything which is young, new and burning with life to be unjust and even criminal. ”

Futurists dubbed the love of the past "pastism", and its proponents "pastists" (cf. Stuckism). They would sometimes even physically attack alleged pastists, in other words, those who were apparently not enjoying Futurist exhibitions or performances.

Rise of Fascism in Italy

Many Italian Futurists instinctively supported the rise of fascism in Italy in the hope of modernizing the society and the economy of a country that was still torn between unfulfilled industrial revolution in the North and the rural, archaic South.

Partito Politico Futurista

Marinetti founded the Partito Politico Futurista (Futurist Political Party) in early 1918, which only a year later was absorbed into Benito Mussolini's Fasci di combattimento, making Marinetti one of the first supporters and members of the National Fascist Party. However, he opposed Fascism's later canonical exultation of existing institutions, calling them "reactionary." Nevertheless, he stayed a notable force in developing the party thought throughout the regime.

Aestheticization of Violence and Glorification

Some Futurists' Aestheticization of violence and glorification of modern warfare as the ultimate artistic expression and their intense nationalism also induced them to embrace fascism. Many Futurists became associated with the regime over the 1920s, which gave them both official recognition and the ability to carry out important works, especially in architecture.

However, some leftists that came to Futurism in the earlier years continued to oppose Marinetti's domination of the artistic and political direction of Futurism.

Thrust Towards Rationalism and Modernism

Futurism expanded to encompass other artistic domains. In architecture, it was characterized by a distinctive thrust towards rationalism and modernism through the use of advanced building materials.

Futurist Architects

In Italy, futurist architects were often at odds with the fascist state's tendency towards Roman imperial/classical aesthetic patterns. However several interesting futurist buildings were built in the years 1920–1940, including many public buildings: stations, maritime resorts, post offices, etc. See, for example, Trento's railway station built by Angiolo Mazzoni.

In Nutshell

Terminology
Group's name derived from the artists belief that society's redemption lay in the future.
Artists
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, and Gino Severini.
Timeline
1909-1929.
Started In
Italy.
About
Marinetti's Futurist manifesto of 1909 (the first of many by the group) outlined the group's aims: the destruction of museums and libraries, and the glorification of speed, machinery and violence. The group hoped for a new world order to emerge from the destruction of the status quo.
Theme
Figures and objects in motion. Said Marinetti: "A roaring motorcar...is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace."
Art Style
Visual embodiment of dynamism. Speed represented by the merging of objects or figures with their backgrounds. Vivid colors.
Known Work
BOCCIONI, Dynamism of a Cyclist, 1913; BOCCIONI, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913.
BOCCIONI, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, 1913.
Inspiration
Cubism.
Become Inspiration Of
Cubo-Futurism and Dada.