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1894 - 1956

Enrico Prampolini

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An Italian artist, an outstanding representative of the second wave of Futurism in painting, one of the first Surrealists in his country. Enrico Prampolini was an unusually gifted man who showed his talent in many branches of art. His contemporaries knew him as a theater set designer and designer, as well as an architect who created several fundamental works. Together with Gerardo Dottori, the artist worked in the style of aerial painting, creating works based on the feeling of flight, the features of the air perspective and speed.

Prampolini was one of the authors of the Manifesto of Mechanical Art, which proclaimed the dominance of machines in the world of the future and the close connection of new technologies with painting. The artist believed that contemporary art should be based on the use of mechanical elements from the world of industry. In his works, he praised the coherence and rhythm inherent in the work of mechanisms.

The painter’s art developed in close contact with the avant-garde movements of Europe. Prampolini knew Paris Cubists, and also took an active part in the work of the German Bauhaus movement. Being a supporter of the abstract geometric construction of the composition, which is characteristic of Italian Futurism, Prampolini gradually moved to a complete abstraction, including elements of surrealism.

Key ideas:

– In his works, he combined elements of a wide variety of techniques, styles and methods. The artist’s works are different: cubist collages, futuristic experiments with the transmission of successive phases of movement, surreal, mysterious images, completely abstract canvases.

– He praised the strength of the human spirit, its superiority over natural processes, which was made possible thanks to the inventions of modern civilization. The artist admired the strength and power of mechanisms and machines, believing that technological progress must necessarily be reflected in art.

– Prampolini’s vision of the world is distinguished by integrity. Focusing on a specific object or idea, he discarded all additional details, all non-essential, and left only the main characteristics of the object, revealing its true essence.

– He used saturated bright colours and simplified shapes. His art is characterized by the geometrization of objects and an emphasis on their dynamics, which is characteristic of the second wave of Italian Futurism.

– Prampolini worked mainly with large planes, filling them with contrasting local colours and placing them in simple geometric structures. Curving lines and blurry textures are used only as additions, emphasizing the direction of movement or pointing to the source of light.

– Surreal elements and smoother forms dominate in the author’s later works. Fantastic objects, scraps of dreams and fantasies indicate the artist’s keen interest in the manifestations of the unconscious. Many of his paintings contain images of cosmic objects and bodies, symbolizing the inextricable connection of consciousness and the universe.

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1894

1912

1914

1915

1918

1922

1925

1929

1932

1945

1951

1956

The birth of the artist

Enrico Prampolini was born into a middle-income family. Received primary education in Lucca and Turin.

Began to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome

Began to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome. He was a student of famous artist Duilio Cambellotti. During his studies, he co-worked with the magazines “Contemporary Artist” and “Spring”, for which he painted illustrations and wrote articles about theater, music and art. After studying for one year, he left the institute having published the manifesto “Let’s bomb academies and industrialize art”.

Joined Futurists

Joined Futurists, met Giacomo Balla, Umberto Boccioni and other representatives of Futurism and supported their ideology. Prampolini participated in a collective exhibition of Futurists at the Sprovieri Gallery in Rome.

Published the manifesto Futuristic Scenography and Choreography

Published the manifesto Futuristic Scenography and Choreography. The artist actively collaborated with several modern theaters, creating stage sets and costumes for them and participating in the production of choreographic numbers. He outlined his views on the unification and interaction of these types of art in his fundamental work.

Organized an "independent art exhibition" at the "Epoka" gallery in Rome

Organized an “independent art exhibition” at the “Epoka” gallery in Rome. At this exhibition, the artist presented several of his paintings, as well as design works. Not only Futurists but also representatives of metaphysical painting took part in it.

He wrote the manifesto "Mechanical Art"

He wrote the manifesto “Mechanical Art”, made a trip to European countries. The manifesto, co-written with Paladini and Pannaggi, encourages using mechanical elements in art and the construction of paintings in strict geometric order. During his long trip to Europe, the artist met the most prominent figures in the field of avant-garde art: Theo van Duisburg, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Pete Mondrian and others.

Moved to Paris

Moved to Paris. In the interwar years, most of the time he lived in the capital of France and continued communication and cooperation with avant-garde artists and theater directors, participated in many exhibitions of contemporary art, and joined the association of abstract artists “Abstraction-Creation”.

Joined the movement of aerial painting

Joined the movement of aerial painting. The name of the artist was among those who signed the aerial painting manifesto, proclaiming the cult of aircraft, flight and free floating. In the artist’s works, themes of airspace, space and the Universe appeared.

Took part in the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution

Took part in the Exhibition of the Fascist Revolution. Like most of his futurist colleagues, Prampolini supported the fascist regime of Mussolini: together with J. Dottori and M. Sironi, he headed the organization of National Socialist artists and completed several orders of Mussolini himself.

Became one of the founders of the Art Club of Rome

Became one of the founders of the Art Club of Rome. The association was created to spread Italian abstract art within the country and abroad. The artist participated in all exhibitions of the club.

Took part in the exhibition "Abstract and Concrete Art of Italy"

Took part in the exhibition “Abstract and Concrete Art of Italy”. At the exhibition, which was held at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome, Prampolini presented several of his surreal works. In the summer of the same year, the artist took part in the Venice Biennale.