Among modernist movements, the Futurists focused
towards a new and modern Italy. This was partly because the weight of past culture in
Italy was felt uninspiring. The three artists which were known for their Futurism
Movement were Giacomo Balla,
Umberto Boccioni and Gino
Severini. They were influenced by using speed, machinery
and war as subject matter.
Giacomo Balla was born 1871 and died in Rome 1958. He was an Italian Futurist painter, sculptor and designer. He
was a largely self-taught artist and his early works were portraits, landscapes and caricatures, and then he became
increasingly interested in painting aspects of modern
industrialised life. He went on to teach both Severini and Boccioni, which is
why I also chose to talk about their work. Balla rapidly became one of the most
original and inventive painters of the Futurist movement.
Secondly, Umberto Boccioni was born in 1882 and died 1916. He was an Italian
Futurist painter, sculptor and etcher. By 1907, Boccioni
wished to paint a modern industrial society, and was well known for his Futurist
paintings around 1910, as well as adopting some Cubist techniques in his paintings. He also
began to make sculptures, and by 1912 he issued a Technical Manifesto of
Futurist Sculpture, and by 1914 his paintings had become distinctly Cubist and
relatively static. 
Finally, Gino Severini (1883-1966) was an Italian painter, designer and
writer in art. In 1900 he met Boccioni and decided to become a painter;
introduced by Boccioni to Balla, who initiated him in the Divisionism style. Along
with Balla and Boccioni, Severini signed the Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting in 1910, and for
the next five years they became an active part of the Futurist movement. 