Luigi Russolo

Biography

An iconic figure of early Futurism, Russolo (1885-1947) was born into a musical family. His father was the organist of Portogruaro Cathedral and both his brothers studied at the Milan Conservatory. Russolo was also gifted musically, but decided to embark on a career as a painter at an early age.Having completed his studies, he joined his family in Milan in 1901 where, despite being largely self-taught as an artist, he soon found work assisting with the restoration of Leonardo's Last Supper and the frescos of Castello Sforzesco. In 1909 he exhibited a group of etchings at the city's Famiglia Artistica, where he met Umberto Boccioni and Carlo Carrà. Together they persuaded F. T. Marinetti of the need to extend Futurism's programme into the visual arts.Russolo's most significant contribution to Futurism was in the field of music. His manifesto The Art of Noises (1913) proposed an expansion of the musical universe to embrace the infinite variety of noise-sounds. He went on to invent a series of noise-generating devices known as intonarumori, which were first performed in public in 1914.

Artworks in this collection

Exhibitions featuring Luigi Russolo