FUTURISM

"Futurism was an essentially Italian cultural phenomenon, linked to particular historical and intellectual circumstances. It was in effect the culmination of a series of attempts to break through the spiritual and intellectual stagnation of Italy and to bring about the cultural rejuvenation which Italians had impatiently awaited since the mid-nineteenth century, when the nation fought for political independence and unification." ("Futurism" in the Oxford Companion to Art History edited by Harold Osborne, Oxford, 1981, p. 210)

The protagonist of the movement was Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, whose first Futurist manifesto "Fondazione e manifesto del futurismo," was published in Figaro (Paris) on 20 February 1909. The painters Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carra, Luigi Russolo, Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini proclaimed public adherence to the movement in March 1910. In April, 1909, the "Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting" was issued. In 1912, Boccioni published a manifesto of Futurist sculpture.

These and other Futurist works, such as catalogues of exhibitions, are to be found in the Marquand Library. A number of them are ex-libris Joshua Taylor, Ph.D. (1956) given to Princeton by Mrs. Stanley Johnson and Mrs. William Wuorinen.

A reprint of Futurist posters, newspapers, handbills, etc. is available in a four-box set in Marquand Rare Books with call number (SAX) NX600.F8 .M36q.