ELIO LUXARDO | F. T. MARINETTI

This rare print by Italian-Brazilian actor and photographer Elio Luxardo visualizes the dynamism and commanding presence of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, the founder of Futurism. Luxardo’s kaleidoscopic, multiple-exposure depiction of the brash leader was made more than twenty years after Marinetti published the first Futurist Manifesto on the front page of Le Figaro on 20 February 1909, where he boldly declared, ‘There is no beauty that does not consist of struggle.’

Futurism championed technology, speed, violence, multi-media creations and mass communication. The logo for Futurismo, a mouthpiece published on the 10^th anniversary of the rise of Fascism, is visible on the left and right sides of the composition. At the center of the image, DEPERO is clearly visible in bold letters – a reference to Fortunato Depero, a staunch supporter who joined the Futurist movement in 1915.