This exhibition pays tribute to the pre-Futurist Boccioni. It examines the artist's connection to Padua, bringing to the fore an interesting and noteworthy aspect of his life which is known to scholars but ignored by Paduans and lovers of art in general. The exhibition accurately reconstructs Boccioni's biography and the interweaving of relationships and interests he had in the city, giving substance to the period 1900-1907, which he spent between Padua and Rome, before his later Futurist years in Milan.
Boccioni (1882-1916) arrived in Padua at the age of seven with his family and left at sixteen with his father, who was employed in Prefecture Offices, for Catania (and then Rome). Boccioni returned to Padua every year and in the autumn of 1906 he stayed for six months, painting primarily portraits and beginning his major diary, the so-called "Paduan" diary. This book tells the story of the people who were important in his life during his stay in the city, beginning with his mother, who was an important presence, his beloved sister Ines, and his painter cousin Adriana Bisi Fabbri. In this reconstruction Padua appears as the "maternal city", with the strong presence and affection of women. In the more public and professional spheres Boccioni created relationships of substance with established professional citizens whose portrait he painting in a unique post-impressionist style that was vigorous and strongly expressive, but limited to that period. He painted the portraits of the lawyer Gopcevich, the doctor Tian, the Brocchi brothers and cavalier Tramello.
The catalogue extensively documents new details that have emerged from recent research on Boccioni in Padua and is organised in chapters intended as "portraits" of the figures animating the Paduan stage and who were connected - in a much greater way than was earlier thought - to Umberto Boccioni. The documents which have come to light (family status, Confirmation register, national service documents, residences, newspaper articles) have enabled scholars to date biographical details showing how the painter in Padua felt part of the city, and how the citizens in cultural circles were well-informed of his presence and were stimulated by his existential and artistic eccentricity.
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