Giacomo Balla
born Turin, Italy, July 18, 1871; died Rome, Italy, March 1, 1958

Primarily influenced by Divisionism and Pointilism in his early paintings, Balla joined the Futurists in 1910 and his painting underwent a profound shift. Along with Carlo Carrà, Umberto Boccioni, Gino Severini and Luigi Russolo, Balla proclaimed the The Manifesto of the Futurist Painters in the Chiarella Theater in Turin on March 8 of that year.

So devoted to the movement was he that he named his daughters Propeller and Light (Elica & Luce), and in fact, his painting from then on focused a great deal on light and capturing the dynamics of motion. He has often been cited with introducing the standard shorthand for movement in comic strips: the action lines.

Balla’s Walking Dog

Schultz’s Snoopy

Elica, Luce & Giacomo Balla

FURTHER READING
The Manifesto of the Futurist Painters, by Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, Luigi Russolo, Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini
Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting, by Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, Luigi Russolo, Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini
Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe, by Giacomo Balla and Fortunato Depero
The Futurist Cinema, by F.T. Marinetti, Bruno Corra, Emilio Settimelli, Arnaldo Ginna, Giacomo Balla, and Remo Chiti
The Futurist Universe, by Giacomo Balla
The Late Balla - - Futurist Balla, by Giacomo Balla