Riot in the Galleria

Umberto Boccioni made this painting, Riot in the Galleria, with oil on canvas. It looks like the canvas is absolutely vibrating! He's using a pointillist technique, but these aren't the calm dots of Seurat. Here, they build into an almost frantic energy that really conveys the feeling of a riot. Check out how he uses blues and purples in the shadows of the figures, and the way the whole scene is lit by a bright, almost feverish yellow light emanating from the ‘CAFFE’. The texture is thick, giving the painting a tactile quality that draws you right into the chaos. There is one dancer right in the middle of the painting who has a brilliant red dress. Boccioni was part of the Futurist movement, and this painting is a great example of their obsession with capturing movement, speed, and the dynamism of modern life. It feels like he’s showing us not just a riot, but the energy of a new century being born. It reminds me a little of some of the Italian Divisionists like Pellizza da Volpedo who also played with the way spots of colour can make a new kind of experience.