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The Street Pavers

1914
Not on view
Boccioni was a member of the Futurists, a group of Italian artists who announced their existence in 1909 with a manifesto published on the front page of the French paper Le Figaro. They called for the abandonment of the past in favor of modern life and aimed to represent the metropolis in "multicolored and polyphonic tidal waves of revolution." Canvases such as The Street Pavers offered Boccioni the opportunity to radically transform a scene of backbreaking work into a celebration of the powerful form of the modern laborer.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Street Pavers
  • Artist: Umberto Boccioni (Italian, Reggio 1882–1916 Sorte)
  • Date: 1914
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 39 3/8 × 39 3/8 in. (100 × 100 cm)
  • Classification: offering tables or basins
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Lydia Winston Malbin, 1989
  • Object Number: 1990.38.5
  • Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Composition Study for "The Street Pavers", Umberto Boccioni Italian, Pen and brown ink on paper
Composition Study for "The Street Pavers"
Umberto Boccioni
1914
Study for "The Street Pavers": Man Laying Paving Stones, Umberto Boccioni Italian, Pen and black ink on paper
Study for "The Street Pavers": Man Laying Paving Stones
Umberto Boccioni
1914
Study for "The Street Pavers": Two Workmen, Umberto Boccioni Italian, Graphite with black ink on paper
Study for "The Street Pavers": Two Workmen
Umberto Boccioni
1914
The Athlete, Umberto Boccioni Italian, Drypoint
The Athlete
Umberto Boccioni
1907
Head Against the Light (The Artist's Sister), Umberto Boccioni Italian, Pen and brown ink with traces of copy pencil on paper
Head Against the Light (The Artist's Sister)
Umberto Boccioni
1912

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