Bold in Blue Times
The use of the colour blue in Italian Futurism
Litsperation: The Story of Art Without Men by Katy Hessel
A few weeks ago I was in the library and on the shelf I found Katy Hessel’s ‘The Story of Art Without Men’, this was fantastic as I was in dire need of inspiration. My approach to ‘reading’ this was simply skimming through the pretty pictures. I decided to take an ‘anti-intellectual’ approach and just enjoy what was being presented to me (fear not - it is in my reserved list at the library).
This post will focus on one painting in particular and examine how the use of blue compares to the colour palette of other artists within the Italian Futurist movement at the time. Firstly let’s discuss Italian Futurism, it is the exploration of space, time and dynamic movement, starting in the early 20th century it was a bold and rebellious art form for its time. The art featured geometric shapes, varying perspectives and bright colours - mainly red and orange hues. These warm fiery tones convey a sense of anger and discontent with the world, almost like a ‘burn it all to the ground’ kind of attitude. This in conjunction with the evocative movement within the paintings shows a sense of urgency and a desire to break free of conventional norms. It is important to keep in mind these particular paintings mentioned were created during the reign of Mussolini, hence disillusioned italian youth could be expected. Just a thought - A current comparison could be the rise of women writers based in the United States breaking free of stereotypes persisting around them, despite having Donald Trump for president.
These pictures show a few different examples of Futurism in the early 1900s, the lines are sharp and decisive, almost rigid in some cases. In my opinion each painting is quite chaotic perhaps representing a disjointed mind, in comparison the ‘Speeding Motorboat’ by Benedetta Cappa Marinetti (1923) stands in great contrast to the typical paintings within the movement. This is shown by her confident use of a deep blue, implying calmness and authority, which would have been in juxtaposition with perceptions of gender at the time. The painting also conveys motion, time and space but in a manner that is completely different with soft and intentional curves alongside the adoption of a two tone palette. The use of geometric shapes feels like more of a suggestion than a hard rule, the painting does not show any signs of confinement in the way the others do. It portrays a certain comfortability with reality, without the need for an outlandish image to convey dissatisfaction.
I was really moved by this painting when I saw it I think in part because I saw it as audacious but also rather calming. If other futurist art found freedom by the destruction of societal expectations, then the ‘Speeding Motorboat’ shows liberation in the act of letting go of things that don’t serve you and jetting off into the unknown.
Thank you for reading this week’s Digital Archive, I’ve learnt that recently I have been obsessed with the early 20th century from fashion to literature. I just think they were so messy! I will be getting into their messy behaviour but until then I will see you next week x
What century do you think deserves more attention?