Luigi Colombo was born into the family of intellectuals Domenico Colombo and Maria Phillia. Luigi studied at a classical high school, and early became interested in the arts – not only fine arts but also in theater and poetry.
1904 - 1936
An Italian artist associated with the second generation of futurism. Luigi Colombo signed his work with the pseudonym Phillia, using his mother’s maiden name for this. From an early age, he was interested in theatre and achieved certain successes in this, but later became interested in Futurism and devoted himself to the fine art. The artist was a co-author of several manifestos of Futurism and wrote many art studies that reveal the essence and features of modern art.
In Turin, where Phillia mostly worked and lived, he organized a futuristic society, thereby making an important contribution to the development of this art movement in the region. He made several long trips to Paris, where he came into contact with the most influential avant-garde masters. Among his colleagues, Colombo stood out for his extreme activity in the field of art. He always remained at the center of cultural events, both Italian and foreign, organized various events, was the editor of several periodicals.
The artist’s style gradually evolved from sharp futuristic works to abstract canvases with smoother lines and organic colours. In mature works, Phillia studied the subjective inner world of a person, his subconscious and psychological aspects.
Key ideas:
– The artist practised the geometric decomposition of objects on the plane. Large spaces filled with local colour are landscapes, portraits and abstract compositions of the artist. Phillia often used bright, contrasting colours, basing on the theory of “psychological analogy of pure colours”.
– As one of the participants in the air painting, he often used the theme of planes, air, flight, and soaring in his paintings. The artist was especially interested in the topic of the connection between a human being and the cosmos, the search for his place in the infinite space of the Universe.
– He studied the psychological aspects of the human subconscious, explored the inner subjective world and expressed it using abstract forms, sometimes brightly coloured, with sharp corners and faces, sometimes smooth and fluid, made in organic colours.
– Phillia’s paintings have a lot of space. The main composition in the picture often occupies its central or lower part, and the rest of the space is filled with a blue sky or an abstractly monophonic light background. Thanks to this, the artist’s works look light and airy and create a feeling of weightlessness.
– Despite the geometrization and abstractness, paintings of Luigi Colombo are very dynamic; they are emotional and convey a charge of positive energy. Most of the works evoke a feeling of calmness and serenity; they give room for imagination and make the audience think philosophically.
1904
1923
1926
1929
1931
1933
1934
1936
1936
Luigi Colombo was born into the family of intellectuals Domenico Colombo and Maria Phillia. Luigi studied at a classical high school, and early became interested in the arts – not only fine arts but also in theater and poetry.
He founded Futurism in Turin with a group that included Bracci, Pozzo, Oriani and other artists and sculptors. Phillia became the leader of the association and its tireless leading force. He acted not only as an artist but also as a theorist and art critic, editor of several art history magazines.
Made a trip to Paris, during which he met representatives of non-figurative painting. He closely communicated with a circle of artists united around Fernand Leger and his publication “The New Spirit”. In the works of Phillia and his friend Prampolini of this period, the influence of French abstract painting is noticeable.
Became a co-author of the futuristic manifesto “Aero painting”. Together with Depero, Dottori, Marinetti and Prampolini, he announced the creation of a new painting style, in which special attention is paid to airspace, flight and aircraft. In addition, in the artist’s work, themes of outer space and the interaction of a man and the universe appear.
The first solo exhibition of the artist was held in Padua. In the same year, together with Marinetti, he became the author of the “Manifesto of the Sacred Futuristic Art” and started creating religious paintings. In his work, Phillia tried to combine modern art trends with sacred painting. He invented a series of strictly simplified characters that became the fixed style of all his religious works.
Started working in the genre of monumental painting, decorated the walls of the city hall of La Spezia with murals and completed several other large orders. In the same year, a major solo exhibition of the artist took place in Florence.
Took part in the Venice Biennale, where he showed a number of his works in an abstract style. At the same time, the artist became interested in the art of photography and began to create collages and photomontages. At the end of the year, Phillia participated in the first exhibition of murals organized in Genoa.
The artist’s book “The Futurist’s Kitchen (How Women are Seduced)” was published; mastermind of Futurism Marinetti wrote it together with Phillia (the creative pseudonym of Luigi Ermanno Colombo), the vice-secretary of the futuristic art movement. The early death of Phillia led to the disappearance of the name of Marinetti’s co-author, the talented Turin artist, from the cover.
Luigi Colombo died on February 10 in 1936 in Turin, Italy.