Painter, sculptor, and art writer Umberto Boccioni embarked on his artistic journey under the tutelage of a poster artist in Rome, where he relocated with his father in 1901. It was in Rome that he crossed paths with Gino Severini, leading to their frequent visits to Giacomo Balla’s studio, where they delved into the realm of contemporary French painting. In 1903, Boccioni commenced his studies at the Free School of the Nude, fostering a lasting friendship with fellow artist Mario Sironi. During this period, he created his inaugural piece, Campagna Romana o Meriggio. Following travels to Paris and Russia, Boccioni moved to Milan in 1907, where he found inspiration in Divisionism, evident in works such as the Autoritratto (1908) and Officine di Porta Romana (1909-1910). Boccioni’s path intersected with Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, leading to a collaborative effort in creating the Technical Manifesto of the Futurist Movement in 1910 and the Manifesto of the Futurist Painters in 1911 authored collectively with Carlo Carrà, Luigi Russolo, Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini. In 1911, Boccioni returned to Paris where he met Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. From then on, he began to delve deeply into the exploration of form in space, emphasizing movement, dynamism, and the plastic expression of psychological states. As part of his exploration into movement and dynamism, Boccioni created a series of works in 1911 Gli Addii, Quelli che restano, Quelli che vanno, Forze di una strada (1911) and one of his renown work Il Lavoro (La Città che sale), now housed at MoMA.
In collaboration with Ugo Nebbia, Carlo Carrà, and Alessandrina Ravizza, Boccioni spearheaded the establishment of the Primo Padiglione d’Arte Libera, a very modern exhibition which showcased the inaugural group exhibition of Futurist painters. The following year, Boccioni began to devote himself fully to study in preparation for the publication of the Technical Manifesto of Futurist Sculpture and, above all, of his first volume: Pittura e scultura futuriste (1914). Experiences in the field of plastics also belong to this period, such as L’Antigrazioso (1912). In 1911, Boccioni had already demonstrated his interest in depicting movement with Dinamismo di un giocatore di calcio and in 1913, he continued this exploration with Dinamismo di un ciclista. These works portray the subject in successive moments and stages of movement through space. The interaction between subject, movement and space also returns in the artist’s sculptural work, whose most famous work is Forme uniche della continuità nello spazio (1913), which also appears on the Italian 20-cent coin. By 1914-1916, Boccioni underwent a shift in his artistic focus, favoring a return to figurative representation with works such as Ritratto di Busoni (1916). Meanwhile, the Great War broke out in 1915, and Boccioni, a staunch interventionist, enlisted as a volunteer along with other artists in the National Volunteer Motorcyclist Corps. Unexpectedly, due to a fall from a horse, he died in 1916 at Verona Military Hospital.