Gino Severini was a member of the Futurists, a group of Italian artists that announced its existence with a manifesto published in 1909 on the front page of Le Figaro. The Futurists urged others to ignore the past and focus on the aesthetic power of modern life. Their paintings celebrate modernity—the speed, thrill, and especially the danger of factories, airplanes, automobiles, locomotives, and steamships. Their style blended Divisionism and Cubism to render “dynamic sensation” and the interpenetration of objects and their environment by superimposing different chromatic planes and lines of force.
Severini’s work focused on Parisian entertainments, nightlife, and street activities. In Festival in Montmartre, he depicted the centrifugal motion of a carousel and the liberating, yet destabilizing, effects of color, speed, and sound. The artist presented this work in his first solo exhibition in 1913, writing in the catalogue, “My object has been to convey the sensation of a body, lighted by electric lamps and gyrating in the darkness of the boulevard. The shapes of the pink pigs and of the women seated on them are subordinate the whole, the rotary movement of which they follow while undergoing displacement from head to foot and vice versa.”
Date
Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.
Severini, Gino, The Futurist Painter Severini Exhibits his Latest Works, exh. cat. (London: Marlborough Gallery, 1913), p. 9, cat. 6, as The Fête at Montmartre.
Galerie Der Sturm, Sechzente Ausstellung Gëmalde und Zeichnungen des Futuristen Gino Severini, exh. cat. (Berlin: Galerie Der Sturm, 1913), p. 7, cat. 15, as Fest auf Montmartre.
Galleria Futurista, Prima Esposizione di Pittura Futurista: Boccioni, Carrà, Russolo, Balla, Severini, Soffici, exh. cat. (Naples: Galleria Futurista, 1914), p. 29, cat. 6, as La festa a Montmartre.
Kunsthaus Zurich, Abstrakte und Surrealistische Malerei und Plastik, exh. cat. (Zurich: Kunsthaus Zurich, 1929), p. 19, cat. 129, as La fête à Montmartre, 1913. [No owner listed… still with Severini]
Courthion, Pierre, Arte Moderna Italiana 17: Gino Severini (Milan: La Libreria Ulrico Hoepli, 1930), n.p. (ill.), as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Palais des Beaux Arts, L’Art Vivant en Europe (Brussels: n.p., 1931), p. 37, cat. 527, as La Fête à Montmartre.
Kunsthandel Huinck and Scherjon, Gino Severini: Exposition Retrospective, exh. cat. (Amsterdam: Kunsthandel Huinck and Scherjon, 1931), p. 28, cat. 4, as La Fête à Montmartre (Carrousel).
Galleria Santa Radegonda, Nell’opera di Gino Severini, exh. cat. (Milan: Arte-Edizioni, 1946), n.p., cat. 2, as La Fête à Montmartre, 1912.
Galerie Billiet-Caputo, Severini, œuvres anciennes et récentes, exh. cat. (Paris: Galerie Billiet-Caputo, 1947), n.p., cat. 5, as La Fête a Montmartre, 1913
Carrieri, Raffaele, Pittura e Scultura d’Avanguardia in Italia, 1890–1950 (Milan: Conchiglia, 1950), p. 51, 54 (ill.) as Festa a Montmartre, 1912.
Ponti, Giovanni, XXV Biennale di Venezia, exh. cat. (Venice: Alfieri Editore, 1950), p. 62, cat. 37, as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Musée National d’Art Moderne, L’Oeuvre du XXe Siecle, exh. cat. (Paris: Musée National d’Art Moderne, 1952), n.p., cat. 104, as Fête at Montmartre, 1912–13.
The Tate Gallery, XXth Century Masterpieces, exh. cat. (London: The Arts Council, 1952), p. 16, cat. 88, as Fête at Montmartre, 1912–13.
Maritain, Jacques, The Futurists: Balla, Severini, 1912–1918, exh. cat. (New York: Rose Fried Gallery, 1954), n.p. cat. 1, as Festival in Montmartre, 1913.
Berggruen & Cie, Oeuvres futuristes et cubistes, exh. cat. (Paris: Berggruen & Cie, 1956), n.p., as La Fête à Montmartre.
Gambillo, Maria Drudi, and Fiori, Teresa, Archivi del Futurismo I (Rome: De Luca Editore, 1958), p. 459, as Festa a Montmartre.
Thurman, Sue M., The World of Art in 1910, exh. cat. (New Orleans: Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, 1960), n.p., as Fete a Montmartre, c. 1912.
Bryant, Edward, Michael R. Campo, and Filippo Donini, Salute to Italy: 100 Years of Italian Art, 1861–1961, exh. cat. (Hartford, Conn.: Wadsworth Athenaeum, 1961), pp. 42, 43 (ill.), as Festival à Montmartre, 1912-13.
Carrieri, Raffaele, Futurism, (Milan: Edizione de Milione, 1961), n.p., cat. 111, as Holiday at Montmartre, 1913.
Detroit Institute of Arts, Futurism, exh. cat. (1961).
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, A Century of Modern European Painting, exh. cat. (Waltham, Mass.: Rose Art Museum, 1961), n.p., cat. 37, as Festival at Montmartre, 1912-13.
Gambillo, Maria Drudi, and Teresa Fiori, Archivi del Futurismo II (Rome: De Luca Editore, 1962), pp. 316 (ill.), 338, fig. 19, as Festa a Montmartre.
Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Gino Severini, exh. cat. (Rotterdam: Gemeente-drukkerij, 1963), n.p., cat. 10 (ill.), as Fete a Montmarte (Feest te Montmartre), 1912.
Pacini, Piero, Severini (Milan: Sadea-Sansoni, 1966), pp. 13, 31, fig. 28, as Fête à Montmartre (Carrousel), 1913.
Musée National d’Art Moderne, Gino Severini, exh. cat., (Paris: Ministère d’état affaires culturelles, 1967), pp. 5, 6, 7, 16, cat. 20 (ill.), as Fete a Montmartre, 1913.
Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Seven Centuries of Italian Art, exh. cat. (Providence, Foremost Lithograph Company, 1967).
Apollonio, Umbro, Futurismo (Milan: Gabriel Mazzotta, 1970), p. 287, cat. 84 (ill.), as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Städtische Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Futurismus 1909-1917: Wir setzen den Betrachter mitten ins Bild, exh. cat. (Düsseldorf: Städtische Kunsthalle, 1974), fig. 17 (ill.), cat. 151, as Fest auf dem Montmartre (Fête à Montmartre), 1913.
Harnoncourt, Anne d’, Futurism and the International Avant-garde, exh. cat. (Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1980), n.p., cat. 69 (ill.), as Festival in Montmartre (Carousel), 1913.
Neuberger Museum, State University of New York College at Purchase, Soundings, exh. cat. (Purchase: The Museum, 1981), pp. 12, 54 (ill.), as Festival at Montmartre, 1913.
Palazzo Pitti, Gino Severini, exh. cat, (Florence: Electa, 1983), pp. 17, 70 (ill.), as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Berreford, Sandra, “Review: Gino Severini (1883-1966). Florence, Palazzo Pitti,” The Burlington Magazine, v. 125, no. 966 (September 1983), pp. 575, n. 18, as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Palazzo Grassi, Futurismo e Futurismi, exh. cat. (Milan: Bompiani, 1986), pp. 231 (ill.), as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Argencourt, Louise d’, 1912, Break Up of Tradition, exh. cat., (Winnipeg: The Gallery, 1987), pp. 204-205 (ill.), as Festival at Montmartre/Fête à Montmartre, 1913.
Fonti, Daniela, Gino Severini, Catalogo ragionato (Milan: Arnoldo Mondadori, 1988), p. 131 (ill.), as Fête à Montmartre, 1913.
Haskell, Barbara, Joseph Stella, exh. cat., (New York: Whitney Museum of Art, 1994).
Hanson, Anne Coffin, Severini futurista: 1912–1917, exh. cat. (New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1995), pp. 16 (ill.), 17, 74 (ill.), 75, cat. 7, as Festival at Montmartre, 1913.
Museu Picasso, Futurisme, 1909-1916, exh. cat. (Barcelona: Àmbit/Museu Picasso/Institut de Cultura, Ajuntament de Barcelona, 1996), p. 186, cat. 90 (ill.), as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Bilski, Emily D., Berlin Metropolis: Jews and the New Culture, 1890-1918, exh. cat., (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1999), pp. 99 (ill.), 131, pl. 18, as Festival at Montmartre, 1913.
Fonti, Daniela, Gino Severini: The Dance 1909–1916, exh. cat. (Milan: Skira Editore, 2001), pp. 21, 82, 83 (ill.), cat. 8, as Fête à Montmartre (Carousel), The Fête at Montmartre (Carousel), 1913.
Fonti, Daniela, Luce + velocità + rumore. La città futurista di Gino Severini, exh. cat. (Milan: Skira, 2005), pp. 16 (ill.), 18, as Fête à Montmartre, 1913.
Art Institute of Chicago, Annual Report 2006-2007 (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 2007), pp. 29 (ill.), 33, as Festival in Montmartre (Carousel), 1913.
D’Alessandro, Stephanie, “Notable Acquisitions at the Art Institute of Chicago,” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 34, no. 1 (2008), p. 62, ill. p. 63.
D’Alessandro, Stephanie, Matisse: Radical Invention 1913-1917, exh. cat (Art Institute of Chicago, 2010), p. 205, cat. 26b.
London, Marlborough Gallery, The Futurist Painter Severini Exhibits his Latest Works, April 1913, p. 9, cat. 6, as The Fête at Montmartre.
Berlin, Galerie Der Sturm, Sechzehnte Ausstellung Gëmalde und Zeichnungen des futuristen Gino Severini, June–August 1913, p. 7, cat. 15, as Fest auf Montmartre.
Naples, Italy, Galleria Futurista, Prima Esposizione di Pittura Futurista: Boccioni, Carrà, Russolo, Balla, Severini, Soffici, May 20–June 10, 1914, p. 29, cat. 6, as La festa a Montmartre.
Zurich, Kunsthaus, Abstrakte und surrealistische Malerei und Plastik, October 6–November 3, 1929, p. 19, cat. 129, as La fête à Montmartre, 1913.
Brussels, Palais des Beaux Arts, L’Art Vivant en Europe, April 25–May 24, 1931, p. 37, cat. 527, as La Fête à Montmartre.
Amsterdam, Kunsthandel Huinck and Scherjon, Gino Severini: Exposition Retrospective, December 1–31, 1931, p. 28, cat. 4, as La Fête à Montmartre (Carroussel).
Milan, Galleria Santa Radegonda, Nell’opera di Gino Severini, May 10–June 5, 1946, n.p., cat. 2, as La Fête à Montmartre, 1912.
Paris, Galerie Billiet-Caputo, Severini, œuvres anciennes et récentes, May 21–June 21, 1947, n.p., cat. 5, as La Fête a Montmartre, 1913.
Venice, Palazzo Centrale, XXV Biennale di Venezia, June–October, 1950, p. 62, cat. 37, as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Paris, Musée National d’Art Moderne, L’Oeuvre du XXe Siecle, May–June 1952, n.p., cat. 104, as Fête a Montmartre, 1912-1913; traveled to London, Tate Gallery, Twentieth Century Masterpieces: An Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture, July 15–August 17, 1952, p. 16, cat. 88, as Fête at Montmartre, 1912–13.
New York, Rose Fried Gallery, The Futurists: Balla, Severini, 1912–1918, January 25–February 26, 1954, n.p., cat. 1, as Festival in Montmartre, 1913.
New Orleans, Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, The World of Art in 1910, November 15–December 31, 1960, n.p., as Fete a Montmartre, c. 1912.
Hartford, Conn., Wadsworth Athenaeum, Salute to Italy: 100 Years of Italian Art, 1861–1961, April 21–May 28, 1961, p. 42, 43 (ill.), as Festival á Montmartre, 1912-13.
Waltham, Mass., Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, A Century of Modern European Painting, June 3–July 2, 1961, n.p., cat. 37, as Festival at Montmartre, 1912-13.
Rotterdam, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Gino Severini, June 28–September 1, 1963, n.p., cat. 10 (ill.), as Fete a Montmarte (Feest te Montmartre), 1912.
Paris, Musée d’art moderne, Gino Severini, July–October, 1967, p. 5, 7, 16 (ill.), cat. 20, as la Fête a Montmartre, 1913.
Dusseldorf, Städtische Kunsthalle, Futurismus 1909-1917: Wir setzen den Betrachter mitten ins Bild, March 15–April 28 1974, n.p., cat. 151, as Fest auf dem Montmartre (Fête à Montmartre), 1913.
Purchase, Neuberger Museum, State University of New York, Soundings, September 20–December 23, 1981, p. 12, 54 (ill.), as Festival at Montmartre, 1913.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Futurism and the International Avant-garde, October 26, 1980–January 4, 1981, n.p., cat. 69 (ill.), as Festival in Montmartre (Carousel), 1913.
Florence, Palazzo Pitti, Gino Severini, 1883-1966, June 25–September 25, 1983, p. 17, 70 (ill.), as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
Winnipeg Art Gallery, 1912, Break Up of Tradition, August 7–October 4, 1987, p. 204-205 (ill.), as Festival at Montmartre/Fête à Montmartre, 1913.
New Haven, Conn., Yale University Art Gallery, Severini futurista: 1912–1917, October 18, 1995–January 7, 1996, p. 16 (ill.), 17, 74 (ill.), 75, cat. 7, as Festival at Montmartre, 1913; traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, Kimbell Art Museum, February 11–April 7, 1996.
Barcelona, Museu Picasso, Futurisme 1909-1916, May 8–July 21, 1996, p. 186, cat. 90 (ill.), as Festa a Montmartre, 1913.
New York, The Jewish Museum, Berlin Metropolis: Jews and the New Culture, 1890-1918, November 14, 1999–April 23, 2000, p. 99 (ill.), 131, pl. 18, as Festival at Montmartre, 1913.
Venice, Peggy Guggenheim Collection, May 26–October 28, 2001, Gino Severini: The Dance 1909–1916, pp. 21, 82, 83 (ill.), cat. 8, as Fête à Montmartre (Carousel), The Fête at Montmartre (Carousel), 1913.
Fort Worth, Kimbell Art Museum, The Age of Picasso and Matisse: Modern Masters from the Art Institute of Chicago, Oct. 6, 2013–Feb. 16, 2014, no cat. no.
The artist, until at least 1952 [Paris 1952]. Rose Fried Gallery, New York, by 1954, probably acquired directly from the artist [New York, 1954 and letter from Gino Severini to Rose Fried, Mar. 26, 1961, in curatorial file]; sold to Richard S. Zeisler, New York, by 1958 [Gambillo 1958]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2007.
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