Gino Severini was born in Cortona, but moved to Rome in 1899, where he studied under the pioneering Futurist Giacomo Balla learning the technique of Divisionism, alongside fellow student Umberto Boccioni.
After his studies and being disappointed with the provincial atmosphere in the Italian capital, Severini relocated to Paris in 1906, where he became involved in the city’s artistic avant-garde; moving to the Pigalle district, his neighbours included Georges Braque, Suzanne Valadon and Maurice Utrillo. Eager to establish a niche in Parisian artistic circles, in 1910 Severini joined the Futurist movement, largely encouraged by Boccioni. He thence became one of the key proponents of the movement in Paris. Much of his work around this time reflected the dynamism of urban life and the energetic thrill of Paris’s nightlife, especially inspired by the cabaret, movement and dancing. Throughout his life, he worked between France and Italy, providing a link and maintaining relationships with artists in both countries. He drew upon various elements of the artist developments that he was exposed to, resulting in his unique visual style of Futurism.
In the early 1910s, Severini experimented with effects and fragmentation of light, tending towards increasingly geometric forms, likely informed by his familiarity with the emergent principles of Cubism. The outbreak of war in 1914 had a significant impact on his visual language; he began to favour solid, volumetric forms reflecting the mechanization of warfare and industrial production. Beginning in 1916, catalysed by the violence and chaos of the war, his work saw a stark transition towards formal purity inspired by the traditions of the Italian Renaissance, paying particular attention to mathematical rules that would underpin his practice for years to come. In the 1920s, he mainly split his time between Paris and Rome, and he was involved in decorative schemes including frescoes and murals for private residences and churches in France, Italy and Switzerland. The theme of the commedia dell’arte emerged in his art during these years, and also became prevalent in his easel paintings. He was also involved with the Italian Novecento group of artists in the second part of the 1920s, and he participated in the Venice Biennale in 1930.
Severini returned to Italy in 1935, where he became involved in the monumental artistic and design enterprises of the Fascist regime; he participated in several projects including the decoration of the Palazzo di Giustizia in Milan (1936), and producing frescoes for the University of Padua (1937), as well as producing sets and costume designs for theatre. During these years, he became strongly supportive of the ideal relationship between architecture and the visual arts.
Following World War Two, Severini returned to Paris, where he resumed painting in a Neo-Cubist style, and in the 1950s returned to Futurist subjects, namely dancers, light, and movement. He continued to exhibit internationally, undertake public decorations and receive numerous honours, until his death in 1966.
