Abstract Speed + Sound

Abstract Speed + Sound (Italian: Velocità astratta + rumore) is a painting by Italian Futurist painter Giacomo Balla, one of several studies of motion created by the artist in 1913–14.

Abstract Speed + Sound
Italian: Velocità astratta + rumore[1]
Abstract Speed + Sound (1913–14) by Giacomo Balla
ArtistGiacomo Balla
Year1913–14 (1913–14)
Typeoil paint on millboard
Subjectabstract
Dimensions54.5 cm × 76.5 cm (21.5 in × 30.1 in)[1]
LocationPeggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice[2]
Accession76.2553.31

Description

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The painting evokes the sensation of the passing of an automobile, with crisscrossing lines representing sound.[1][3] It may be the second in a triptych narrating the passage of a racing car through a landscape, beginning with Abstract Speed (Velocità + paesaggio) (1913) and ending with Abstract Speed – The Car Has Passed (1913). The three paintings share indications of a single landscape, and each painting is continued onto its frame.[1]

Inspiration

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Balla chose the automobile as a symbol of speed, reflecting the statement of Futurist founder Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's 1909 first manifesto: "The world's splendor has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed... A roaring automobile...that seems to run on shrapnel, is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace."

Legacy

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The painting is said to have captured the ideals of Italian Futurism.[4] It was featured on the 1980 British television series 100 Great Paintings, which presented five paintings from each of 20 thematic groups.[5]

The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses an apparent study for the painting, a 23.5 cm × 33 cm (9.3 in × 13.0 in) work in watercolor and graphite.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Giacomo Balla: Abstract Speed + Sound (Velocità astratta + rumore)". Peggy Guggenheim Collection. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  2. ^ "Abstract Speed + Sound". WikiArt. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  3. ^ Day, Gail (1999). "The Futurists: transcontinental avant-gardism". In Wood, Paul (ed.). The Challenge of the Avant-garde. Yale University Press. pp. 217–218. ISBN 0-300-07761-0.
  4. ^ Carr, Maureen A. (2014). After the Rite: Stravinsky's Path to Neoclassicism (1914–1925). Oxford University Press. p. 18. ISBN 978-0199742936. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  5. ^ "Top 100 Masterpieces". Toperfect. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Velocità astratta + rumore (Abstract Speed + Noise)". Philadelphia Museum of Art. Retrieved 20 July 2016.