Umberto BOCCIONI
1882–1916, Italy

Umberto Boccioni was born in Reggio Calabria in Italy in 1882. In 1900 he was in Rome where he struck up a friendship with Severini. After traveling to Paris and St. Petersburg he settled in Milan in 1907. In 1910 he signed the manifestos of the Futurist painters and thereafter became the most energetic of the Futurist group. He was regarded by Appollinaire as the most talented of the Futurists. Boccioni was introduced to Cubism by Soffici in 1911 and came to know it at first hand on a visit to Paris in the autumn of that year. His painting took on more rigorous formal construction under Cubist influence. Boccioni volunteered for the army in 1915 and was enrolled in the Cyclists' Brigade. Ironically he died from a fall off a horse that had been frightened by a locomotive in August 1916.

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