The Futurist Manifesto by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti Analysis Essay

The Futurist “Manifesto” (1909) written by F. T. Marinetti was written near the end of the industrial revolution and just before World War I. In the manifesto Marinetti concludes that for societal growth we must change our ways. He explains that people must embrace war because it is “the only hygiene of the world” (Marinetti) as well as the concept of speed, specifically mechanical speed being “more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace” (Marinetti). The point he makes by glorifying speed and violence is reflective of the world around him that is quickly changing and ever evolving and for society to progress we must embrace and almost worship things that can move quickly.  Additionally, he expresses a distaste for the old and romanticizes all things new and young even saying “When we are forty, let those younger and more valiant than we kindly throw us into the waste basket” (Marinetti). Marinetti’s love of everything new and contempt for anything remotely old is also reflective of the time he finds himself in. He is saying that the older generations are out of touch and if we want to advance our society, we should disregard any ideas from old people since they supposedly aren’t doing anything to benefit the future of man. The ideas expressed by Marinetti’s manifesto were emulated in a various pieces of literature as well as works of art during this time. In this essay I will explore just a few examples of F. T. Marinetti’s manifesto in the artworks of Boccioni and Severini, as well as the writings of Apollinaire and Mayakovsky.

The painting “The City Rises by Umberto Boccioni is a roughly six by nine-foot oil on canvas painting from 1910 that depicts horses and men in the foreground and a city in the background. The horses appear to be running rampant through a city and the men look like they are trying to get them back under control. One thing to note about the painting is its unique and quick brush strokes. Boccioni utilizes the brush strokes to blur the living things in his painting as a way of expressing dynamism and speed, an idea which Marinetti romanticizes in his manifesto. An interesting way Boccioni branches away from Marinetti’s manifesto is by having horses rather than vehicles symbolize speed and quickness which gives the audience a sense that the anarchy in the painting was almost overdue. He also chooses to have the horses symbolize youth by having the horses run through town, antagonizing those who are trying to maintain the peace in the city. The ideas of violence and youth rebellion in this painting are influenced by Marinetti’s strong encouragement to “Undermine the foundations of the venerable cities” since they impede upon progress.

Similarly, to Boccioni, painter Gino Serverini uses Marinetti’s ideas in his artwork. In his 1915 oil on canvas painting “Red Cross Train”, Serverini showcases the importance and power of speed as well as a hidden glorification of violence and war through the simple image of a train passing through the countryside. He does this by making a train the focus of the painting rather than the landscape it is passing through. The train is meant to represent the fast-paced industrialization the world has faced for the past few decades with no signs of slowing down. The painting also acknowledges World War I which was ongoing during the time of this paintings creation but acknowledges it in the futurist style. The light colors and abstract representation of the train gives the audience hope and makes the audience root for the train, which is headed directly into conflict and glorifying violence, just as Marinetti would want.

On the topic of World War I, French poet Guillaume Apollinaire writes about this time in his poem “The Little Car” (1914). In the poem he describes the German bombing of England and the deployment of troops in France. Like the “Futurist Manifesto”, Apollinaire’s poem glorifies war and violence. Apollinaire does this when he writes, “Furious giants were looming over Europe… higher than the eagles soar” (Apollinaire). By using giants as a metaphor for the planes bombing Europe, he paints this war as a larger-than-life battle of gods. Moreover, when he compares the height of where the battles are happening to the altitude eagles soar at it only glorifies the conflict further. The imagery he creates of a war-torn Europe with planes dogfighting in the sky allows the reader to feel the dynamism and motion that surrounds those who are living directly under it. However, unlike the Marinetti’s manifesto that promotes violence throughout, Apollinaire changes tone in the end and writes “already fully grown men we had nevertheless just been born” (Apollinaire). He changes the subject from the glorious battle above to the casualties and reality of war, showing a sympathy for those that have lost someone in the bloodshed.

In parallel to Apollinaire, Vladimir Mayakovsky maintains a similar tone through his short poem “Spring” which was written after World War I had ended, and the world was trying to return to normal. In the poem he compares the end of winter and coming of spring to a new member of the army. Mayakovsky personifies spring calling the season “foolish and loose-tongued as an army cadet” (Mayakovsky). By juxtaposing the coming of spring to the naivety of someone fresh out of boot camp it shows a glorification of war and the horror of it simultaneously. It glorifies war and violence like Marinetti wishes by having the promotion of soldiers going off to battle.  In contrast shows how many young men went into the war expecting to return home or come out of the conflict unchanged.

In conclusion the glorification of speed, violence, and youth in art and literature can be traced back to F.T Marinetti’s “Futurist Manifesto” and the futurist movement. These ideas helped artists and writers express themselves while experiencing the hardships of the new industrializing world and the even greater hardships of the great war.