Giacomo Balla

Giacomo Balla was a key proponent of Futurism who sought to depict light, movement and speed in his artworks. Unlike other Futurists, he did not focus on the representation of machines, instead creating abstract works relating to similar themes. Balla's recognition as one of the forerunner of modern Italian art began in the post-War years, when Balla’s fellow artists retraced the beginnings of abstraction to his historical avant-garde.

Balla was brought up in Turin, and as a child studied music. However, as a young man he decided to pursue an artistic career and undertook training in local academies. After moving to Rome in 1895, he worked for many years as an illustrator and portrait painter. The influence of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti encouraged Balla to engage with Futurism, and he was a signatory in the Futurist Manifesto of 1910. From 1909, Balla developed a unique Futurist language, employing various media to illustrate the abstractions of speed and motion, including drawings, pastels, temperas, oil on canvas, and even enamel on glass. These compositions, unique in the panorama of the European avant-garde, were Balla’s interpretations of dynamism. During Italy's participation in the First World War, Balla created notable works celebrating the patriotic effort, still within a Futurist discourse.

Balla was prolific and constantly venturing into new forms of expression; alongside his two-dimensional works, he was also a sculptor, a furniture-designer and a designer of sets for the theatre. Although he continued to make new investigations into movement through his art, towards the end of his life, he also created some figurative works.