Carlo Carrà

description

An Italian painter and graphic artist, a representative of Futurism and Metaphysical painting. A creatively active artist and painting theorist, Carlo Carra was one of the most famous artists in Italy in the early decades of the 20th century and an influential member of the futuristic movement.

The artist’s style changed dramatically several times over his long career. He survived several successive periods: early Neo-impressionism and Symbolism, Futurism, Cubism, metaphysics and neoclassical painting.

The artist made the most significant contribution to Futurism. In his paintings, he skillfully combined the original techniques of cubism with dynamism and the bold innovation of futuristic ideology. Carra’s canvas of the futuristic period is filled with incredibly bright and energetic images, chaotic movement and wild emotions.

During the war, he met with Giorgio de Chirico, with whom he founded a style known as metaphysical painting. Since then, he painted still lifes and interiors filled with ominous emptiness and mysterious silence. In the late 1920s, the artist completely abandoned the avant-garde art and defended the conservative aesthetics of Novecento.

Key ideas:

– Invented the principle of simultaneous perception of a work of art, which he adhered to working on his paintings. According to Carra, the viewer should perceive the picture, like any other work of art, simultaneously by several senses: vision, hearing and smell. He outlined his views in his work “Painting of sounds, noises, smells.”

– In his works, he praised modern technology, dynamism and speed. Like other futurists, he considered cars and mechanisms more significant than people. The artist’s painting evokes the idea of the total absorption of a human being by machines, his subordinate position and weakness.

– The author’s futuristic works are characterized by increased emotionality and high passions. Paintings by Carra often depict a crowd engulfed in some kind of restlessness and fuss. Silhouettes moving in different directions create feelings of chaos and disorder.

– Applied the techniques of analytical cubism in his work. The artist divided objects into separate components, moving them in space and creating an unusually brisk and complex picture of the world.

– Moving away from Futurism, he started creating mysterious metaphysical paintings in which preference was given not to movement and feeling but to the aesthetics of form and space.

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1881

1895

1900

1909

1911

1913

1916

1920

1943

1966

The birth of the artist

Carlo Carrà was born in northwestern Italy into the large family of a craft shop owner. As a child, Carlo almost drowned in a lake, falling through the ice. Recovering from pneumonia, which he got as a result of hypothermia, the boy painted. At the age of 12, he left home forever and began working as an interior decorator.

He studied at an evening school at the Brera Academy

He studied at an evening school at the Brera Academy. Carra’s teacher at the academy was Cesare Tallone. The famous professor of painting instilled in Carlo a passion for Velazquez and Caravaggio. During his studies, the artist exhibited a series of his landscapes, in which the influence of pointillism and Lombard painting of the 19th century is noticeable.

Participated in the World Exhibition in Paris

Participated in the World Exhibition in Paris, visited London. The artist was invited there to decorate the Italian pavilion, and he worked on the wall paintings. Contemporary French art made a strong impression on the young artist. After the exhibition, Carra went to London. In England, he got to know the ideas of Karl Marx, supporters of socialism and anarchists.

Signed the "Manifesto of Futuristic Painting"

Signed the “Manifesto of Futuristic Painting”. After meeting Futurists Russolo, Balla, Severini and Boccioni, he joined the art movement and concentrated on depicting movement in his art. In his canvases, themes of technological progress, human masses and the life of a big city characteristic of the work of Futurists appeared. In the same year, he created his famous painting “The Funeral of Anarchist Galli”.

Came to Paris a second time

Came to Paris a second time. This time, Carlo Carra met with Picasso, Braque, Leger and other French avant-garde artists, as well as with poet Guillaume Apollinaire. There he came under the influence of Cubism and Cezanne’s painting. The Italian artist began to introduce elements of analytical cubism into his paintings, breaking objects into separate components.

Published his manifesto “The painting of sounds, noises and smells”

Published his manifesto “The painting of sounds, noises and smells”. In this treatise, the artist very figuratively presented the idea of simultaneous perception of a work of art, in which all the senses should be involved: vision, hearing and even sense of smell.

Met Giorgio De Chirico

Met Giorgio De Chirico and began to work in the style of metaphysical painting. The innovative artists first met in Ferrara during the First World War. Impressed by the work of De Chirico, Carra created his first metaphysical paintings. In these works, the artist depicted mainly interiors and still lifes filled with deep subconscious subtext.

Started working in the style of novecento

Started working in the style of novecento, breaking quite abruptly with both futurism and metaphysics. Started working in a classical, realistic manner. Carlo Carra created several genre paintings and landscapes depicting rural views and the life of fishermen.

“My life”

The master’s autobiography “My life” was published. In the work that was a peculiar result of the artist’s creative career, Carlo Carra revealed his views on painting and contemporary art.