Umberto Boccioni Artwork valuations, appraisals and auction estimates

Umberto Boccioni was a futurist painter, sculptor and inventor of Plastic Dynamism. The artist was born in Reggio Calabria on 19 October 1882, but spent his childhood and adolescence in various cities because his father, a state employee, was forced to travel frequently.

The family is originally from Forlì, but moved to Genoa, then to Padua in 1888 and then to Catania in 1897, where Umberto graduated from the Technical Institute.

During the war years Umberto Boccioni collaborated on the magazine "Avvenimenti" and resumed relations with his old teacher Balla; his very personal style in search of dynamism leads him to approach Expressionism and Cubism with the aim of placing the viewer at the center of the painting to make him feel involved and involved.

Umberto Boccioni becomes the artist who better than others knows how to portray modern, hasty and stressful life, of which the moving car is the main symbol.

On 17 August 1916 Boccioni died after a fall from a horse in Sorte (Verona), at the height of his pictorial revolution which had taken him from Futurism to Plastic Dynamism.

Guide to Umberto Boccioni price quotations

Umberto Boccioni’s auction prices have grown steadily over the years as the Italian Futurist painter has gained prominence. Born in 1882, Boccioni was part of the Futurist movement in early 20th century Italy along with artists like Giacomo Balla and Gino Severini. The Futurists aimed to capture the energy and dynamism of the modern industrial age through their artwork.  

Boccioni’s sculptures and paintings often depicted figures in motion, blurring forms to convey speed and movement. His most famous works include Dynamism of a Soccer Player from 1913 and Unique Forms of Continuity in Space from 1913. These pioneering abstract sculptures broke new ground in depicting four-dimensional forms in three dimensions.  

Boccioni first started selling his paintings in the early 1910s for amounts ranging from hundreds to low thousands of dollars. However, as the 20th century progressed and Futurism gained prominence as an early modern art movement, his auction prices rose steadily. In 1988, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space sold for $2.2 million, showing Boccioni was joining the ranks of the most in-demand modern artists.

Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, multiple Boccioni paintings and sculptures have sold for over $10 million. His 1913 painting Those Who Stay will be auctioned by in 2019 with a pre-sale estimate between $15 million and $25 million. These astronomical prices reflect Boccioni’s status among the pioneers of Cubism and Abstract Art in the early 20th century. As one of the foremost Italian Futurists, Boccioni’s combination of abstract forms, dynamic compositions, and fascination with motion and speed have ensured his artwork remains highly sought after by museums and collectors.

Minor works on paper can be sold for between 15,000 and 200,000 euros depending on the size, technique and subject.

Umberto Boccioni Biography

Umberto Boccioni was a futurist painter, sculptor and inventor of Plastic Dynamism. The artist was born in Reggio Calabria on 19 October 1882, but spent his childhood and adolescence in various cities because his father, a state employee, was forced to travel frequently.

The family is originally from Forlì, but moved to Genoa, then to Padua in 1888 and then to Catania in 1897, where Umberto graduated from the Technical Institute.

During the war years Umberto Boccioni collaborated on the magazine "Avvenimenti" and resumed relations with his old teacher Balla; his very personal style in search of dynamism leads him to approach Expressionism and Cubism with the aim of placing the viewer at the center of the painting to make him feel involved and involved.

Umberto Boccioni becomes the artist who better than others knows how to portray modern, hasty and stressful life, of which the moving car is the main symbol.

On 17 August 1916 Boccioni died after a fall from a horse in Sorte (Verona), at the height of his pictorial revolution which had taken him from Futurism to Plastic Dynamism.