HUMAN FORMS IN MOVEMENT

Hidden in the photos?

 

​Human Forms in Movement is arguably the most enigmatic of all Boccioni’s sculptural works. No known photographs of the sculpture exist, and a thorough examination of all exhibition catalogues indicates that it was only shown twice: first at the Galleria Futurista in Rome in December 1913, and again at the Galleria Gonnelli in Florence in March 1914 (1; the title is highlighted in red in the respective catalogues).

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The possibility that Human Forms in Movement is a misprint or an alternative title for one of Boccioni’s known striding sculptures can be ruled out. By the time of the Paris exhibition at Galerie La Boëtie in June 1913, Boccioni had already assigned definitive titles to his sculptural works, as documented in the printed catalogue.

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After the 1914 Florence exhibition, the sculpture is not mentioned again. It was almost certainly destroyed along with many of Boccioni’s other plaster works when his studio contents were discarded at the Acquabella municipal dump in Milan in 1927.

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There is, however, a possibility that Human Forms in Movement appears in an unfinished state in several photographs taken in Boccioni’s studio between April and May 1913 (2, indicated with a red arrow). It is plausible that Boccioni had begun work on the sculpture but was unable to complete it in time for the June 1913 Paris show, where it does not appear in the catalogue. He may, however, have finished it later for inclusion in the Rome exhibition that December. The title itself strongly suggests a striding figure, which would imply a composition similar in scale to his other large dynamic sculptures.

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As with most of Boccioni’s sculptures, Human Forms in Movement likely originated from a series of preparatory sketches. Approximately 20 drawings related to the theme of human motion survive (3), offering some insight — albeit limited — into the possible form and composition of this lost work.

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[Published April 2020]