Giacomo Balla's Figurative Turn at Palazzo Merulana
Palazzo Merulana in Rome, restored from a former hygiene office, now hosts the Fondazione Cerasi's permanent collection. A new exhibition focuses on Giacomo Balla's later figurative period, using his painting 'Primo Carnera' (1933) as a starting point. Curator Fabio Benzi argues this shift was not a return to tradition but a radical new direction within Futurism. The show juxtaposes Balla's portraits with glamorous photographs by Anton Giulio Bragaglia, Elio Luxardo, and Arturo Ghergo, alongside images from contemporary magazines. Scholar Gonzalo Zolle notes Balla's desire to break from Marinetti's stale style and embrace mass aesthetic avant-garde, embodied by boxer Primo Carnera. A technical detail: Balla applied a metal mesh to the painting's surface, mimicking typographic halftone and presaging Roy Lichtenstein's pop art dots.
Key facts
- Palazzo Merulana is located in Rome's Esquilino district.
- The building was restored from a former Ufficio di Igiene.
- The Fondazione Cerasi was founded by patrons Elena and Claudio Cerasi.
- The exhibition focuses on Giacomo Balla's figurative period from the 1930s.
- Balla's painting 'Primo Carnera' (1933) is from the Cerasi collection.
- Curator Fabio Benzi considers Balla's figurative turn a new Futurist path.
- The show includes photographs by Anton Giulio Bragaglia, Elio Luxardo, and Arturo Ghergo.
- Balla used a metal mesh on the painting surface to create a halftone effect.
- Gonzalo Zolle is a Madrid-based art historian collaborating with the foundation.
- Primo Carnera was a world champion boxer and a popular figure in 1930s Italy.
Entities
Artists
- Giacomo Balla
- Anton Giulio Bragaglia
- Elio Luxardo
- Arturo Ghergo
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Fabio Benzi
- Gonzalo Zolle
- Primo Carnera
Institutions
- Palazzo Merulana
- Fondazione Cerasi
- Fondazione Elena e Claudio Cerasi
- Gazzetta dello Sport
- Vetrina Futurista
- Artribune
Locations
- Rome
- Italy
- Esquilino
- Turin
- Madrid
- Spain