Giacomo Balla

Casa Balla, Roma (no. 775)
Antonio Corpora, Rome
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna, Rome
Bruno Tartaglia, Rome (acquired from the above by 1972)
Private Collection, Netherlands (acquired in 2004 and sold: Sotheby's, London, June 24, 2014, lot 207)
Acquired at the above sale by A. Alfred Taubman

Oil on paper laid down on canvas. There are pinholes to each of the uppers corners; some minor restoration at each of the corners with some associated inpainting, which presumably date form the laying down process. Some minor nicks to the extreme edge of the sheet at center right and left. There is a minor tear towards the center of the left edge and another in the dark yellow pigment of left upper edge. Otherwise this work is in good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

It is difficult to overstate the effect of World War I on the historical narrative of the Futurist movement. When Boccioni left for the Italian front, where he died under the hooves of a horse, Balla was left alone as the chief and most famous proponent of the Futurist aesthetic. In October of 1918, just weeks before the war’s end, he exhibited forty canvases from this period. While the experimentations were much the same, Balla’s choice of subject matter had shifted. Returning to an emphasis on the forces of nature, these works fell into distinct groups, which Anton Giulio Bragaglia, the dealer who hosted the 1918 exhibition, characterized as “'landscape lines of force', modified by the state of mind when the mental vision superimposes itself on the physical eye” (quoted in Maurizio Fagiolo dell’Arco, Balla, The Futurist, New York, 1988, p. 42). The present work is a prime example of this experimentation, highlighting the ways in which Balla allowed his imagination to influence colors and distortions at this stage in his career.