Abstract Speed + Sound
Painting by Giacomo Balla
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abstract Speed + Sound (Italian: Velocità astratta + rumore) is a painting by Italian Futurist painter Giacomo Balla, one of several studies of motion created by the artist in 1913–14.[1]
| Abstract Speed + Sound | |
|---|---|
| Velocità astratta + rumore (Italian) | |
| |
| Artist | Giacomo Balla |
| Year | 1913–1914 |
| Type | oil on millboard |
| Dimensions | 54.5 cm × 76.5 cm (21.5 in × 30.1 in) |
| Location | |
| Accession | 76.2553.31 |
Description
The painting evokes the sensation of the passing of an automobile, with crisscrossing lines representing sound.[1][2] It may be the second in a triptych narrating the passage of a racing car through a landscape, beginning with Abstract Speed (Velocità + paesaggio) (1913) and ending with Abstract Speed – The Car Has Passed (1913). The three paintings share indications of a single landscape, and each painting is continued onto its frame.[1]
Inspiration
Balla chose the automobile as a symbol of speed, reflecting the statement of Futurist founder Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's 1909 first manifesto: "The world's splendor has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed... A roaring automobile...that seems to run on shrapnel, is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace."
Legacy
The painting is said to have captured the ideals of Italian Futurism.[3] It was featured on the 1980 British television series 100 Great Paintings, which presented five paintings from each of 20 thematic groups.[4]
The Philadelphia Museum of Art houses an apparent study for the painting, a 23.5 cm × 33 cm (9.3 in × 13.0 in) work in watercolor and graphite.[5]