Gino Severini (1883-1966)
Meeting Giacomo Balla and Umberto Boccioni in 1901 turned out to be a decisive moment in the life of Gino Severini (1883-1966). Giacomo Balla introduced him to the work, and the Divisionism, of the Neo-Impressionists. In 1906, Severini settled in Paris where he kept the company of many artists, writers and philosophers. He was invited to join the Futurist movement by Marinetti and Boccioni and in 1910 became a co-signatory of the "Manifesto of the Futurist Painters". He took part in several Futurist exhibitions in 1912, while maintaining a rich intellectual exchange with his country of origin. Several years later, he turned towards Cubism and focused his research on the harmony of geometrical constructions and the Golden Section. From 1924 to 1935, Severini also executed numerous decorative murals and mosaics in a more figurative style before moving towards Neo-Futurism and Abstraction.
In 1950, he was awarded the Venice Biennale Grand Prix for his work.