I picked two paintings from the Palazzo Reale exhibition on the work of Umberto Boccioni. In my opinion, these two paintings, “Three Women” and “Materia,” are pivotal moments in Boccioni’s evolution into a Futurist painter.
In the first painting, “Three Women,” Boccioni starts to play with movement in the image through his painting methods. You can see the short and rapid brush strokes that energize and bring to life the light in the painting. This is one of the first works of his that begins to show signs of moving towards a more abstracted way of painting. The caption next to the painting describe it as “extraordinary luminous energy” with “glowing colors.”
In the second painting, that stood out to me, “Materia,” Boccioni really embraced the abstracted form. This is a painting of his mother, which used as subject material a lot. This painting again, reference light. There is an aura of light that surround his mother in the painting. Most of the painting uses darker colors, but then there is a bright pop of light around her head. The background of the painting seems to resemble a factory and city life. This really speaks to the Futurist Manifesto, which is enthralled with mechanical and industrial processes.
My first week in Milan has come to a close, and I cannot believe it! We have done so much already, but there is still so much to do.
Milan is a beautiful city. Everything around me has some sort of history, compared to back home where buildings are still somewhat new, or at least from the last century. Everything is so much more compact here than in Texas. We are used to open spaces and being able to see for miles and miles, but here, looking out the window, all you see is more buildings. I guess it would be similar to living in a large city like New York as well. I am still getting used to such tight spaces. For example, the grocery store! I am used to a large superstore like HEB back home. But here, the store is about as big as my Austin apartment. It is like one long aisle that wraps around like a snake in this itty-bitty building. The stores still have the same type of food, just fewer options than we are used to. Also less junk food or processed food. It almost reminds me of shopping in a gas station store size-wise that is.
Milan also has a really well designed public transportation system. They have so many options! There are trams, trains, buses, and an underground metro! I think Austin could take a hint from Milan. The metro system is very easy to navigate. I understood how to get around on the subway in my first week! Now, that’s saying something, especially since I cannot read or speak Italian. We did have help the first few days, though. Compared to Milan, Austin’s public transportation system is lacking. We only have buses, that sometimes run on schedule, but usually not. We have a rail line, but only one, and it only connects the suburbs to the city center. The people of Milan know how to get around, in my opinion.
I think one of my favorite things about being in Milan so far is that the history just kind of pops up and surprises you. You don’t have to go looking for things because the city was built around the historical landmarks. Like the Duomo for example. Just sitting in the city center, is this massive cathedral! These buildings of importance are not built far from the center of the city like in the US. One reason is that they were usually the first landmarks of a city, rather than added on later. Another reason is that Italy is much smaller than the US and does not have room to space out things. But I love that I can be walking down a street and BAM! History is in my face.
Class on top of the Duomo! A lecture about Futurists.
