The name Carlo Erba resonates in Italian history across different fields, leading to occasional confusion. One Carlo Erba (1811-1888) was a pioneering pharmacist and entrepreneur who founded a significant pharmaceutical company that still bears his name. The architectural project known as "Residenze Carlo Erba" in Milan, designed by renowned architects like Peter Eisenman, is named in homage to this industrialist and his historical factory site, not the artist. Our focus here, however, is on a different Carlo Erba (1884-1917), a gifted painter whose promising career was tragically intertwined with the fervent nationalism and artistic revolution of Italian Futurism, and ultimately cut short by the Great War. This Carlo Erba was an artist of vision and conviction, a participant in the avant-garde movements that sought to redefine Italian art in the early 20th century.
Early Life and Artistic Awakening in Milan
Carlo Erba was born in Milan in 1884, into a city that was a burgeoning hub of industrial and cultural activity. While he shared a surname with the famous pharmaceutical dynasty, his path diverged towards the arts. He enrolled at the prestigious Brera Academy (Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera) in Milan, a venerable institution that had nurtured generations of Italian artists. At the Brera, he would have been exposed to a curriculum that, while rooted in classical traditions, was also beginning to feel the tremors of modern artistic currents sweeping across Europe.
During his formative years at the Brera, Erba would have studied alongside and been aware of artists who were grappling with the legacy of 19th-century Italian art, such as the lingering influences of Romanticism, Realism, and the uniquely Italian Macchiaioli movement. More immediately, the Symbolist and Divisionist movements were making significant inroads. Divisionism, in particular, with its scientific approach to color and light, breaking down tones into individual dots or strokes, had a profound impact on many young Italian painters. Artists like Giovanni Segantini, Gaetano Previati, and Angelo Morbelli were leading figures of Italian Divisionism, and their work would have been a significant part of the artistic environment Erba was immersed in. Previati, in fact, taught at the Brera Academy, and his influence, alongside that of Cesare Tallone, a master of portraiture also teaching there, would have shaped the technical skills and aesthetic sensibilities of students like Erba.
The Path to Futurism: Nuove Tendenze
As the new century dawned, Milan became a crucible for radical artistic ideas. The desire to break from the past and embrace the dynamism of the modern age was palpable. Carlo Erba was not immune to these currents. He became a key figure in the formation of the Nuove Tendenze (New Trends) group in 1913-1914. This Milan-based association of artists sought to provide an alternative or a more structured exhibition platform, distinct from the more established and often conservative official salons. While not exclusively Futurist at its inception, Nuove Tendenze attracted artists who were exploring modern idioms and who were sympathetic to the broader Futurist call for renewal.
The Nuove Tendenze group is sometimes characterized as representing a "right wing" or a more moderate faction within the broader avant-garde, perhaps less anarchic than the core Futurist group led by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. However, its members were undeniably part of the wave of artistic innovation. Fellow artists involved with Nuove Tendenze included figures like Leonardo Dudreville and Anselmo Bucci. The group organized a significant exhibition in Milan in 1914 at the Famiglia Artistica, showcasing works that, while diverse, shared a commitment to modern artistic expression. Erba's involvement as a co-founder underscores his proactive role in shaping the contemporary art scene in Milan and his desire to engage with new artistic languages.
Embracing the Futurist Aesthetic
While Nuove Tendenze provided a platform, the overarching artistic revolution in Italy at the time was Futurism. Launched by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's "Futurist Manifesto" in 1909, published on the front page of Paris's Le Figaro, Futurism celebrated speed, technology, youth, violence, and the dynamism of the machine age. It called for a radical rejection of past traditions and an embrace of all things modern. The core group of Futurist painters – Umberto Boccioni, Carlo Carrà, Luigi Russolo, Giacomo Balla, and Gino Severini – had issued their own "Manifesto of the Futurist Painters" in 1910, followed by the "Technical Manifesto of Futurist Painting."
Carlo Erba was drawn into this vortex of creative energy. His work began to reflect Futurist concerns, particularly the depiction of urban life, movement, and the changing landscape of the modern city. While his oeuvre is not as extensive as that of the leading Futurists due to his early death, the pieces that survive demonstrate his engagement with these themes. Futurism itself was not monolithic; it absorbed influences from Cubism (evident in the works of Boccioni and Severini after their encounters with Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in Paris) and retained elements of Divisionism, especially in its early phases, to convey light and motion. Erba's style seems to have navigated these influences, developing a personal voice within the Futurist ambit.
Representative Works: Capturing the Urban Spirit
Two works are frequently associated with Carlo Erba and offer insights into his artistic preoccupations:
"Le prime case della città" (The First Houses of the City), 1911: This painting is particularly illustrative of Erba's early engagement with modern themes. Created before his full immersion into the more radical aspects of Futurism, it depicts the periphery of Milan, where the urban environment encroaches upon the natural landscape. The artwork is noted for its use of rich color blocks and a keen observation of light and shadow, suggesting a lingering influence of Divisionist techniques, which many early Futurists, including Boccioni and Carrà, had themselves practiced. The painting captures a sense of transition, a city in flux, which was a core interest of Futurist artists who sought to represent the dynamism of urban growth and transformation. The work was significant enough to be included in later exhibitions, such as one in 1984, attesting to its art historical value.
"Vecchio Ponte" (Old Bridge): This work is an etching, showcasing Erba's skills in printmaking. The dimensions are recorded as 336 x 164 mm. The subject of an "old bridge" might seem to contradict the Futurist obsession with the new, but Futurists also engaged with existing structures to highlight their transformation or to contrast them with modern dynamism. Alternatively, the treatment of the subject – perhaps emphasizing industrial features, movement, or a fragmented perspective – could align it with Futurist aesthetics. It is noted that this etching may have been published posthumously in 1944 by his sister, Bianca Erba, which speaks to the desire to preserve his artistic legacy.
These works, though few, indicate an artist grappling with the representation of modernity, using techniques that bridged late 19th-century innovations with the nascent language of Futurism. His focus on the urban landscape, the interplay of light, and the use of color align him with the broader concerns of his Futurist contemporaries.
The Futurist Milieu: Contemporaries and Influences
Carlo Erba operated within a vibrant and often tumultuous artistic environment. Understanding his place requires acknowledging the key figures and movements that shaped early 20th-century Italian art.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti was the charismatic impresario of Futurism, whose manifestos and promotional genius propelled the movement onto the international stage. His call to "destroy the museums, the libraries, the academies of every kind" was a rallying cry for a generation eager for change.
Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916) was perhaps the most intellectually gifted of the Futurist painters and sculptors. His works, such as "The City Rises" (1910) and the sculpture "Unique Forms of Continuity in Space" (1913), are icons of the movement, embodying its obsession with dynamism, speed, and the interpenetration of objects and their environment. Boccioni, like Erba, also died during World War I, a significant loss to the movement.
Carlo Carrà (1881-1966) was another central figure, whose early work showed strong Divisionist roots. He later embraced Futurist dynamism in paintings like "The Funeral of the Anarchist Galli" (1911). Carrà's artistic journey was complex; after his Futurist phase, he became a key figure in the Metaphysical Art movement with Giorgio de Chirico and later associated with the Novecento Italiano.
Giacomo Balla (1871-1958), older than many of his Futurist colleagues, was a crucial teacher and mentor, particularly for Boccioni and Severini. His works, like "Dynamism of a Dog on a Leash" (1912), brilliantly captured movement through repeating forms, influenced by chronophotography.
Luigi Russolo (1885-1947) explored not only Futurist painting, with works like "The Revolt" (1911), but also famously ventured into music with his "Art of Noises" manifesto and his "Intonarumori" (noise-intoning) instruments.
Gino Severini (1883-1966) spent much of his time in Paris and acted as a vital link between Italian Futurism and French Cubism. His paintings, such as "Dynamic Hieroglyphic of the Bal Tabarin" (1912), often depicted the vibrant nightlife of Paris, using fragmented forms and bright colors.
Beyond this core group, other artists contributed to the Futurist ethos or were influenced by it. Antonio Sant'Elia (1888-1916), an architect, envisioned a "Città Nuova" (New City) with dynamic, multi-level structures, though most of his designs remained on paper due to his early death in the war. Mario Sironi (1885-1961) had an early Futurist phase, focusing on urban peripheries, before moving towards a more somber, monumental style. Fortunato Depero (1892-1960) and Enrico Prampolini (1894-1956) were key figures in "Second Futurism" after the war, expanding its principles into design, theater, and decorative arts. Gerardo Dottori (1884-1977) became a leading exponent of "Aeropittura" (Aeropainting), a later Futurist development celebrating flight.
The influence of French Cubism, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, was also significant. Futurist artists, particularly Boccioni and Severini, adapted Cubist principles of fragmentation and multiple perspectives to serve their own thematic concerns of dynamism and speed, rather than the more static, analytical approach of the Cubists. The legacy of Neo-Impressionism, particularly the Divisionist techniques of Georges Seurat and Paul Signac, also provided a foundation for the Futurists' exploration of light and color.
Erba's association with Nuove Tendenze placed him in the company of artists like Leonardo Dudreville (1885-1975) and Anselmo Bucci (1887-1955), who, while perhaps not as dogmatically Futurist as Marinetti's inner circle, were nonetheless committed modernists exploring new forms of expression. Dudreville, for instance, experimented with various styles, including a form of analytical painting, while Bucci, after an early Futurist phase, became associated with the Novecento movement.
Political Engagement and Tragic End
Futurism was not merely an artistic movement; it was deeply intertwined with political ideologies, particularly a fervent nationalism and interventionism that advocated for Italy's entry into World War I. Marinetti and many Futurists saw war as the ultimate expression of dynamism and a necessary "hygiene" for society. They actively campaigned for Italy to join the conflict.
Carlo Erba shared this patriotic fervor. He, along with Marinetti, Boccioni, Russolo, Sant'Elia, and other Futurist friends, enlisted in the "Battaglione Lombardo Volontari Ciclisti Automobilisti" (Lombard Volunteer Cyclist and Automobilist Battalion). This unit, composed largely of artists and intellectuals, was eager to participate in the conflict. The war, however, proved to be a brutal reality far removed from its romanticized Futurist depiction.
Tragically, Carlo Erba was killed in action in 1917 during an assault on Monte Ortigara, a mountain on the Alpine front that saw fierce fighting between Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces. He was only 33 years old. His death, like those of Boccioni and Sant'Elia during the same war, robbed Italian art of a promising talent whose full potential would remain unrealized. This sacrifice, born out of a political conviction deeply embedded within the Futurist worldview, underscores the profound impact of socio-political currents on the lives and careers of artists in this era. The political engagement of Futurists directly influenced their art, infusing it with themes of conflict, patriotism, and the glorification of action, but it also led to the premature end of several of its most compelling voices.
Legacy and Art Historical Evaluation
Evaluating Carlo Erba's position in art history is complicated by his short career. He did not have the time to develop an extensive body of work or to evolve his style through multiple phases, as did artists like Carrà or Balla. However, his contributions are significant within the context of Milanese modernism and early Futurism.
His role as a co-founder of Nuove Tendenze highlights his organizational involvement in promoting avant-garde art. His paintings and etchings, particularly "Le prime case della città," demonstrate a sensitive engagement with modern urban themes and a skillful handling of color and light, reflecting the transition from Divisionism to Futurism. He was an artist who actively participated in the artistic debates and movements of his time, aligning himself with the forces of innovation.
The primary "controversy" or rather, point of clarification, surrounding Carlo Erba in art historical discourse often stems from the shared name with the industrialist and the subsequent naming of the "Residenze Carlo Erba." It is crucial for art historians to distinguish between the two figures and their respective legacies. The architectural project, while a significant piece of contemporary design by Peter Eisenman and Degli Esposti Architetti, has no direct artistic connection to Carlo Erba the painter, other than the historical resonance of the site.
In terms of his art, there isn't significant controversy, but rather a recognition of a talent cut short. His work is valued for its quality and its representation of a specific moment in the development of Italian modernism. He is remembered as one of the "martyrs" of Futurism, an artist whose patriotic ideals, shared with many of his contemporaries, led him to the battlefield where his artistic journey concluded.
The posthumous publication of his etching "Vecchio Ponte" by his sister indicates a contemporary recognition of his artistic merit and a desire to preserve his memory. His works, when they appear in exhibitions or discussions of early 20th-century Italian art, serve as a poignant reminder of the vibrant artistic ferment in Milan and the profound impact of Futurism, as well as the human cost of the Great War on a generation of creative individuals.
Conclusion
Carlo Erba the painter remains a figure of interest for his passionate embrace of modern art and his active participation in the Futurist movement, one of the most radical and influential avant-gardes of the early 20th century. Though his life and artistic output were tragically curtailed by war, his surviving works and his role in initiatives like Nuove Tendenze secure his place in the narrative of Italian modernism. He stands as a testament to a generation of artists who sought to revolutionize not only art but also society itself, often at great personal cost. His legacy is that of a dedicated artist, a Milanese Futurist whose vision of a dynamic, modern world was captured in color and line, a flame that burned brightly but all too briefly. His story is a vital thread in the rich tapestry of Italian art history, reminding us of the potent, and sometimes perilous, intersection of art, politics, and life.
