Page 9 - Boccioni, Dambruoso-interni-30.06.2022-3

Un altro importante ritrovamento della produzione Amelia [fig. 12], accomplished between 1906 and
futurista è una fusione, mai prima documentata, di Forme 1907, coming from the heirs of Gabriele Chiattone,
one of Boccioni’s employers in Milan as well as one
uniche della continuità nello spazio (1913) [fig. 55], realiz- of his first collectors. Still from the heirs of Chiat-
27
zata dal fonditore Francesco Bruni in occasione della nota tone, come five unpublished landscapes completed
edizione della Galleria La Medusa del 1972, ed ereditata dalla in the same time frame (1908-1909) as well as other
works with the same subject donated to the city of
nipote di Bruni nel 1994. Lugano in 1961 .
26
Di grande interesse, sempre di epoca futurista, è inol- From an important Ligurian collection, on
tre una serie di studi, eseguiti a china o a grafite, incentrati the other hand, comes a series of paintings and
sul Dinamismo del corpo umano in movimento che arric- two unpublished drawings, formerly part of the
collection of Angelo Sommaruga, the well-known
chiscono questo significativo e prolifico momento della Milanese publisher, writer and art gallery owner.
ricerca di Boccioni nel corso del 1913. A questo periodo In the collection there is also a portrait of Ange-
si possono far risalire inoltre tre disegni che hanno per lo Sommaruga painted by Giacomo Balla in 1898.
Dating back to Boccioni’s Pre-Futurist period, these
protagonisti altrettanti compagni dell’avventura futurista – are all works of extreme importance as well as that
Francesco Cangiullo, Antonio Sant’Elia e Carlo Carrà – che of remarkable quality, as they offer new evidence
completano la galleria dei ritratti e delle caricature già noti on the path of growth and establishment of the
artist between 1903 and 1909.
degli amici futuristi, insieme a una autocaricatura dello stes- As for the Futurist period, a painting of excep-
so Boccioni [fig. 43]. tional beauty was brought to light last year in
Infine, di particolare rilevanza, anche per allontanare Dorchester, England [fig. 38]. The canvas, preserved
qualsiasi dubbio sulla autenticità di un dipinto del periodo and removed from the frame, portrays a young
woman reclining on a blue cushion. Although the
futurista già oggetto di critiche in passato e ravvivatesi in subject represented can be attributed to the pre-Fu-
tempi recenti, è il ritrovamento di due disegni inediti [figg. turist period, the decisive brushstrokes and the
21, 22], inequivocabilmente preparatori per l’opera conte- movement communicated to the entire composi-
tion clearly reveals the Futurist pictorial language.
stata. Another important discovery of the Futurist
production is a bronze casting, never before docu-
mented, of Unique Forms of Continuity in Space
(1913) [fig. 55], made by artistic foundry owner
27
Francesco Bruni on the occasion of the well-known
edition of Medusa Art Gallery in 1972 and inherited
· 8 ·
by Bruni’s niece in 1994.
Of equally great interest, always from the Futur-
ist period, is a series of studies carried out in ink
or graphite, focused on Dynamism of the Human
Body in Movement that enrich this significant and
prolific moment in Boccioni’s research during 1913.
Three drawings featuring as many companions of
the Futurist adventure – Francesco Cangiullo, Anto-
nio Sant’Elia and Carlo Carrà – can be tracked back
to this period as well, completing the gallery of
already known portraits and caricatures of Futur-
ist friends, along with a self-caricature by Boccioni
himself [fig. 43].
Finally, of particular relevance, also to remove
any doubt about the authenticity of a painting of the
Futurist period, which had already been the subject
of criticism in the past and revived in recent times,
is the discovery of two unpublished drawings [fig.
21, 22], unequivocally preparatory studies for the
disputed work.

26 See the volume Opere d’arte della Città di
Lugano, donazione Chiattone (Works of Art
of the City of Lugano, Chiattone donation),
catalog of the exhibition edited by Cristina
Sonderegger, Civic Museum of Fine Arts, Luga-
no (October 13th – April 15th, 2006), City of
Lugano, Lugano 2006.
27 Calvesi-Dambruoso 2016, n. 712. 27 Calvesi-Dambruoso 2016, no. 712.