Motors as Artistic Inspiration: 9 Artists in History

The article, published on Artribune, explores the intersection of motorcycles, automobiles, and art history, coinciding with the 2021 EICMA motorcycle show in Milan (November 25-28). It profiles nine artists who created significant works featuring engines and speed. The Futurists are central: Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's 1909 manifesto exalted the beauty of speed, reflected in Giacomo Balla's "Velocità d'automobile" and Umberto Boccioni's works. Photographer Jacques Henri Lartigue's 1912 shot of the Grand Prix de l'ACF at Dieppe, initially deemed a mistake, later became an icon. Poster artist Plinio Codognato, a FIAT advertiser, created classics like "FIAT in pista" (1923) and "Il Centauro." Tamara de Lempicka's 1929 "Autoritratto (Tamara in una Bugatti verde)" for Die Dame magazine epitomized modern womanhood. Designer Flaminio Bertoni sculpted the Citroën DS, unveiled at the 1955 Paris Motor Show, selling 1.5 million units. Pop artists like Andy Warhol (1986 Mercedes-Benz series, BMW Art Car) and Roy Lichtenstein (1963 "In the car") used cars as social symbols. Photographer Ercole Colombo, with over 700 Grands Prix, captured iconic F1 moments; he was knighted in 2020. Sculptor Chris Gilmour creates life-sized cardboard cars like the Fiat 500. Andrea Del Pesco paints motoring art, depicting drivers like Schumacher and Button with hyperrealistic detail.