Auction Sales of Balla & Depero

Here are some Futurist works coming up for sale.

Interestingly, while preparing this post, I noticed that Sotheby’s lets you save ‘Futurism’ as a genre preference to your personal profile while Christie’s doesn’t even list ‘Futurism’ among their other 187 other stylistic periods.

Sotheby’s (London) 20th Century Italian Art Sale
October 12th 2012

Lot 10

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ITALIAN COLLECTION
Giacomo Balla
1871 – 1958
NUMERI SIMPATIZZANTI

Estimate: 70,000 – 90,000 GBP

NOT SOLD

Provenance:
Galleria Poggianella, Modena
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 1975

Exhibited:
Rome, Galleria dell’Obelisco, 1968
Modena, Galleria Fonte d’Abisso, Giacomo Balla, Opere dal 1912 al 1930 – Tipologie di astrazione, 1980, no. 55, illustrated in colour in the catalogue

Literature:
Maria Drudi Gambillo & Teresa Fiori, Archivi del Futurismo, vol. II, Rome, 1962, no. 154, illustrated p. 101
Giovanni Lista, Balla, Modena, 1982, no. 801, illustrated in colour p. 368

Catalogue Note: Painted in 1925, Numeri simpatizzanti is a vivacious and colourful example of Balla’s prominent mid-twenties abstract works, a symmetrical arrangement of interlocked shapes and plastic experimentation in line with Futurist ideology. The present work refers to Numeri innamorati of 1923, exhibited in the Museo di Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Trento e Rovereto, which underlined Balla’s interest in mathematics and natural symmetry. The twenties mark Balla’s interest in rich, decorative schemes for interior decorations, furniture, and clothing as a way to integrate his artistic credo and the idea of abstract chromatic decorativisminto daily life.A few years earlier, in an interview with Enrico Santamaria in 1920, the artist expands upon this concept and states that ‘modern man is inclined towards colour. The more or less Parisian fashions demonstrate it. Let us look at the hats, the umbrellas, our wives clothes and the handkerchief and the tie we are wearing. And what has futurist painting been from its beginning up until today if not a research of abstract chromatic decorativism? And it is because our art is essentially decorative that today we are orienting ourselves toward art applied to industry. This form of art comes very close to the masses and can be understood and felt by everyone.’ (Giacomo Balla quoted in Giacomo Balla, Modena, 1982, p. 89)

Sotheby’s (Paris) Collection Mis, Art Moderne et Contemporain
October 24, 2012

Lot 19

Fortunato Depero
1892 – 1960
COSTUME PER VERZOCCHI (VESTITO FUTURISTA)

Estimate: 15,000 – 20,000 EUR

LOT SOLD 17,500 EUR

Provenance:
Roberto Pizzini, Rovereto
Galleria Fonte d’Abisso, Modène
Acquis auprès du précédent dans les années 1980

Exhibited:
Kassel, Modern Museum Fridericianum & Valence, IVAM Centre Julio González, Vanguardia Italiana de Entreguerras : Futurismo y Racionalismo, 1990, no. B.25
New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Soho, Art/Fashion, 1997, no. 20

Literature:
Maurizio Scudiero, Fortunato Depero. Opere, Gàrdolo di Trento, 1987, tavola 52, reproduit p. 140
Maurizio Scudiero (ed.), Depero futurista e l’arte pubblicitaria (catalogue d’exposition), Modène, 1988, no. 30, reproduit p. 68
Enrico Crispolti & Maurizio Scudiero (ed.), Balla Depero : Ricostruzione Futurista dell’Universo (catalogue d’exposition), Modène & Milan, 1989, no. 37, reproduit p. 75

Catalogue Note: signed and dated 1924 ; signed on the reverse ; collage of coloured card.

Lot 20

Fortunato Depero
1892 – 1960
PANCIOTTO FUTURISTA PER MIMMO SEMENZI

Estimate: 20,000 – 30,000 EUR

LOT SOLD 24,750 EUR

Provenance:
Galleria Paolo Sprovieri, Rome
Galleria Fonte d’Abisso, Modène
Acquis auprès du précédent dans les années 1980

Exhibited:
Venise, Palazzo Grassi, Futurismo e Futurismi, 1986, n.n.
Milan, Padiglione d’arte contemporanea, Il Futurismo e la moda, 1988, no. 95
New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum Soho, Art/Fashion, 1997, no. 19

Literature:
Giovanni Nuvoletti, ‘Panciotti festosi donne tendaggio e qualche follia’ in La Stampa, no. 107, 8 mai 1986, supplément ‘Futurismo a Venezia’, reproduit p. 59 (titré Gilet Futurista)
Maurizio Scudiero (ed.), Depero futurista e l’arte pubblicitaria (catalogue d’exposition), Modène, 1988, no. 48, reproduit p. 85
Enrico Crispolti & Maurizio Scudiero (ed.), Balla Depero : Ricostruzione Futurista dell’Universo (catalogue d’exposition), Modène & Milan, 1989, no. 34, reproduit p. 71

Catalogue Note: wool and silk garment. Executed circa 1923-24.