Marinetti, F. T., 1876-1944

Italian writer, artist and Futurist leader.

Founder and leader of the Futurist movement; married Benedetta Cappa, a Futurist writer and artist, in 1923.

F.T. Marinetti was the founder and leader of Italian futurism.

Marinetti, Italian writer, polemicist and performer, was the founder and leader of futurism. Born to Italian parents, he was educated at French schools in Alexandria and France. As an adult he lived primarily in Italy but composed his literary work in both French and Italian.

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944), founder and proponent of Futurism, was the author of Le Futurisme, Teatro sintetico futuristo, and Manifesti del Futurismi.

Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti founded and promoted the Futurist Movement in literature and art, a philosophy of anti- traditionalism.

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944), Italian writer, founder of Futurism and its leader.

Futurism, a twentieth-century movement founded by the Italian writer Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876–1944), embraced literature, painting, sculpture, architecture, and music. The Futurist movement was known for its manifestos which provided practical information about the implementation of futurist principles.

The first Futurist Manifesto was written by Marinetti and published in Le Figaro in 1909. Marinetti called for a new art form that would reflect contemporary living conditions and break with the aesthetic traditions of the nineteenth century. Futurist artists attempted to apply Marinetti's principles by glorifying speed and movement in their works. In 1939, writers Luigi Scrivo and P. Bellanova began compiling notes, clippings, and drafts of chapters for a proposed definitive history of the Futurist Movement. The proposed book, entitled "Volgarizzazione del Futurismo," was never completed. Some of the material collected by Scrivo and Bellanova appears in a similar work, "Sintesi del Futurismo: Storia E Documenti," published by Scrivo in 1968.

Scrivo, Luigi, comp. Sintesi del futurismo . Storia e documenti . Roma, M. Bulzoni, 1968.

Biographical/Historical Note

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, born in Alexandria in 1876, attended secondary school and university in France, where he began his literary career. After gaining some success as a poet, he founded and edited the journal Poesia (1905), a forum in which the theories of futurism rather quickly evolved. With "Fondazione e Manifesto del Futurismo," published in Le Figaro (1909), Marinetti launched what was arguably the first 20th century avant-garde movement, anticipating many of the issues of Dada and Surrealism. Like other avant-garde movements, futurism took the momentous developments in science and industry as signaling a new historical era, demanding correspondingly innovative art forms and language. Like other avant-garde movements, futurism found a solution in collage, which Marinetti called "parole in libertà" when applied to literary forms. Between 1909 and 1920, the period known as futurism's heroic phase, Marinetti energetically promoted his own work, and that of fellow futurists, through numerous manifestos, speeches, essays, meetings, performances and publications. Following WWI, in which he served, Marinetti became an active member of the fascist party; on April 15, 1919, he and Ferruccio Vecchi led the "battle" of piazza Mercanti against socialists, communists, and anarchists, which was Italian fascism's first decisive victory. In 1929 he was elected to the Academy of Italy. Throughout the 1920s and 30s and until his death in 1944, Marinetti sought to reconcile the theories of futurism with the ideology of state fascism and to serve as impresario for both.

Biographical/Historical Note

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, born in Alexandria in 1876, attended secondary school and university in France, where he began his literary career. After gaining some success as a poet, he founded and edited the journal Poesia (1905), a forum in which the theories of Futurism rather quickly evolved. With "Fondazione e Manifesto del Futurismo," published in Le Figaro (1909), Marinetti launched what was arguably the first 20th c. avant-garde movement, anticipating many of the issues of Dada and Surrealism. Like other avant-garde movements, Futurism took the momentous developments in science and industry as signaling a new historical era, demanding correspondingly innovative art forms and language. Like other avant-garde movements, Futurism found a solution in collage, which Marinetti called "parole in libertà" when applied to literary forms. Between 1909 and 1920, the period known as Futurism's heroic phase, Marinetti energetically promoted his own work, and that of fellow Futurists, through numerous manifestos, speeches, essays, meetings, performances and publications. Following WWI, in which he served, Marinetti became an active member of the Fascist party; on April 15, 1919, he and Ferruccio Vecchi led the "battle" of piazza Mercanti against socialists, communists, and anarchists, which was Italian Fascism's first decisive victory. In 1929 he was elected to the Academy of Italy. Throughout the 1920s and 30s and until his death in 1944, Marinetti sought to reconcile the theories of Futurism with the ideology of state Fascism and to serve as impresario for both.

In 1923, Marinetti married Benedetta Cappa. The author of three critically acclaimed Futurist novels, a sizable body of art work, and the mother (with Marinetti) of three girls, Benedetta wrote essays and gave speeches on women and art and women and Fascism, and was presented in the press during the 1930s as a role model for Italian women. After her husband's death, Benedetta continued to correspond with fellow Futurists and to promote Futurism by organizing exhibitions, selling the Marinetti art collection to prominent American collectors and museums, and writing catalog essays.

Biographical/Historical Note

Marinetti, Italian writer, polemicist and performer, was the founder and leader of futurism. Born to Italian parents, he was educated at French schools in Alexandria and France. As an adult he lived primarily in Italy but composed his literary work in both French and Italian.