Artists

Gino Severini, a key figure on the international art scene and one of the signatories of the Futurist Manifesto, was born in Cortona, Italy in 1883.

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Early in his career, he studied Divisionism, but changed his approach after moving to Paris in 1906. His distinctive trait was his ability to combine Futurist dynamism with Cubist-inspired decomposition of light, initially executed with vibrant brushstrokes and rhythmic decompositions, and later with a quest for a "return to order" and geometric perfection. This technique represents speed and dance through forms that have a single goal: to capture the simultaneity of movement and the vitality of modern life through rigorous mathematical balance.

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The artist collaborated with two fundamental artistic movements: Futurism (a movement interested in speed, machines and universal dynamism) and the Valori Plastici group (an ideology according to which art must recover classical solidity and the synthesis of volumes after the decomposition of the avant-garde).

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Severini took part in revolutionary international exhibitions such as the first Futurist exhibition at the Galerie Bernheim-Jeune (1912, Paris), the exhibition "Les Peintres Futuristes Italiens" (1912, London) and on several occasions at the Venice Biennale and the Rome Quadriennale, where he received the Grand Prix for painting in 1950.

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His works are exhibited in numerous international museums and private art collections, such as the Centre Pompidou (Paris), the Tate Modern (London), the MoMA (New York), the Museo del Novecento (Milan), the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna (Rome) and the Hermitage (St. Petersburg).

Gino Severini

Il chitarrista

1929

tempera on cardboard

40x43 cm

Published in the General Catalogue of D. Fonti