Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

An Italian Futurist’s Kaleidoscopic Apartment Welcomes Visitors Into a Vibrant World of Color

An Italian Futurist’s Kaleidoscopic Apartment Welcomes Visitors Into a Vibrant World of Color

After a meticulous restoration, the extraordinary former apartment of Italian artist Giacomo Balla is opening to the public for the first time in Rome.

At Rome’s National Museum of 21st Century Art (MAXXI), an exhibition devoted to Italian futurist Giacomo Balla offers the rare chance to step inside the early 20th-century painter’s creative universe-more specifically, his former home. As part of the MAXXI exhibit, which celebrates the 15oth anniversary of Balla’s birth, visitors can reserve a tour of the wildly colorful Roman apartment, which is dubbed Casa Balla.



Italian artist Giacomo Balla’s former family apartment is open to the public through November 21, 2021, as part of the MAXXI’s Casa Balla: From the House to the Universe and Back exhibition.

Just a 22-minute walk from the museum, on the fourth floor of a Via Oslavia building in Rome’s Della Vittoria district, a door with a metal plaque announcing Futur Balla opens to a whimsical world of bold pattern, color, and light. Casa Balla’s entrance hall vividly conveys the idea that this is a different kind of family home-one dedicated not just to art, but to vibrant spaces that break down the boundaries between art and daily life.



Inside Casa Balla, even practical storage spaces serve as vehicles to introduce more color and beauty to the interiors. In the hallway, overhead lights are shaded by acrylic clouds designed by Balla.

In a 1915 manifesto titled "Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe" that Balla coauthored with Italian painter Fortunato Depero, the prominent Italian futurist introduces the concept of living life itself as "a total work of art"-something that Balla achieved in his family’s home.



The living room, which is crowded with easels to display the family’s artworks, became a veritable showroom for Balla’s futurist universe. Every decorative detail-down to the sofas, upholstery, and lilac-painted floor tiles-was conceived and built by Balla, his wife, and his daughters.



This corridor, which Balla called the Studiolo Rosso, was used as a painting studio and study. The dizzying pattern repeated across the walls, ceiling, and bookcase depicts the dynamism of speed-a theme that early 20th-century Italian futurists returned to repeatedly.

Balla moved into the apartment in 1929 with his wife, Elisa, and their two young daughters, Elica and Luce, both of whom were also painters. But instead of merely living and working within the walls of the typical, upper-middle class flat, the family used it as a dynamic, inhabitable canvas for art-painting the walls, designing and building furniture, and creating their own imaginative floor tiles, carpets, upholstery, light fixtures, and dishes.



In Luce Balla’s room, harmonious colors and lively patterns reflect the presence of a creative family. Her own figurative landscape painting comfortably coexists with the furniture, rug, lighting, and acrylic vase designed by her father.



In the kitchen, a set of painted wooden chairs around the table include geometric details.

Walking through the apartment, Balla’s intention to infuse daily life with art is abundantly clear. In the hallways, patterned murals wrap up the walls and across the ceilings, while hanging light fixtures are adorned with fanciful clouds cut from plexiglass. Carpets designed and hooked at Casa Balla add symmetrical arabesques and swirls of rich color to Luce and Elica’s rooms-the former of which is anchored by a graceful, branch-like chandelier. Nothing seems to have been ignored as a potential delivery system for the futurist’s ideal: the boldly patterned crockery, the clashing colors of the upholstered furniture-even the cabinet pulls and coat hooks have been altered and made beautiful.



An angular smoking table in the living room and gallery offers several functional surfaces to hold tobacco and ashtrays and is decorated by a screen embroidered with fanciful swirls of smoke.



A corner of Elica’s bedroom and studio features a rug and velvet patchwork chair designed by Balla, as well as a portrait painted by her sister, Luce. Only the classic terrazzo floors hint at the home’s relationship to the rest of the neighborhood’s Art Deco apartment buildings.

To coincide with Casa Balla’s opening to the public, the MAXXI is hosting a major exhibition, dubbed Casa Balla: From the House to the Universe and Back. Curators Bartolomeo Pietromarchi and Domitilla Dardi commissioned eight contemporary works from artists inspired by Giacomo Balla and his Casa Balla, which create a visual dialogue alongside additional drawings, sketches, and objects by the Italian futurist.



In his quest to achieve a totality of art, Balla rejected the dull everyday clothes of early 20th-century Italy and instead made colorful and asymmetrical fashions.



Giacomo Balla lived and worked at the Via Oslavia apartment from 1929 until his death in 1958. His daughters Luce and Elica (left to right) continued to look after Casa Balla until the early 1990s. In 2004, Rome’s Special Superintendence of Archeology, Fine Arts and Landscape acquired the apartment for a careful restoration.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Trump Says Ukraine Can Fully Restore Borders with NATO Backing
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Germany Weighs Excluding France from Key European Fighter Jet Programme
Cyberattack Disrupts Check-in and Boarding Systems at Major European Airports
Björn Borg Breaks Silence: Memoir Reveals Addiction, Shame and Cancer Battle
When Extremism Hijacks Idealism: How the Baader-Meinhof Gang Emerged and Fell
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
Trump Orders $100,000 Fee on H-1B Visas and Launches ‘Gold Card’ Immigration Pathway
France’s Looming Budget Crisis and Political Fracture Raise Fears of Becoming Europe’s “Sick Man”
Three Russian MiG-31 Jets Breach Estonian Airspace in ‘Unprecedentedly Brazen’ NATO Incident
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
×