Oil Paint
Oil paint is a slow-drying art medium made with pigment and a drying-oil binder that allows extended working time, smooth blending, and layered application.
Painter
Umberto Boccioni
Umberto Boccioni was an Italian Futurist painter who transformed crowded cities, moving figures, and modern emotions into fractured, dynamic forms.
Umberto Boccioni quick facts
Boccioni moved from divided brushwork toward interlocking shapes and diagonal movement in large oil paintings of modern life.
| Born | 1882 · Reggio Calabria, Italy |
|---|---|
| Died | 1916 · Verona, Italy |
| Nationality | Italian |
| Movements | Futurism |
| Paint types | Oil Paint |
| Painting surfaces | Canvas |
| Painting methods | Divisionist color strokes, fractured volumes, diagonal rhythms, overlapping figures, and attempts to merge subjects with their surroundings |
| Common subjects | Urban construction, industrial streets, railway departures, crowds, athletes, and moving figures |
| Notable works | The City Rises · States of Mind I: The Farewells · Dynamism of a Soccer Player |
| Preparatory studies | Charcoal, Conté crayon, and chalk drawings on paper used to plan major painted compositions |
Sources: Peggy Guggenheim Collection: Boccioni biography, MoMA: The City Rises, oil on canvas, MoMA: States of Mind I, oil on canvas, MoMA: Dynamism of a Soccer Player, oil on canvas, MoMA: Study for The City Rises, drawing materials on paper.
Paint types used
Boccioni used oil for large Futurist canvases such as The City Rises, the States of Mind series, and Dynamism of a Soccer Player.
Surface types used
His best-known Futurist paintings are oils on canvas; one earlier canvas landscape was subsequently mounted on cardboard.
Canvas
Canvas is a woven fabric support, commonly cotton or linen, used for painting and sold either raw or prepared with a compatible ground layer.
Painters similar to Umberto Boccioni
Balla taught Boccioni divided color, while Severini joined him in adapting Futurism to modern motion and the experience of city life.
Giacomo Balla
Giacomo Balla was an Italian Futurist painter known for repeated forms, divided color, and studies of speed, electric light, and moving figures.
Gino Severini
Gino Severini was an Italian Futurist painter who used fractured color, dancers, nightclub scenes, and collage to capture the motion of modern life.