Born: 30th April 1888 - Como, Lombardy, Italy
Died: 10th October 1916 - Isonzo, Gorizia, Italy
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"Futurist architecture ... is not an arid combination of practicality and utility, but remains art, that is, synthesis and expression"
Summary of Antonio Sant'Elia
An architectural visionary, Antonio Sant'Elia is best known for his futuristic designs for a modern city, La Citta Nuovo (1913-14), that anticipated many contemporary technologies as well as pre-empting the styles of Art Deco. A significant member of the Italian Futurists, Sant'Elia helped to form the movement's ideas on architecture and was a key figure in the production of the Manifesto of Futurist Architecture (1914). His career was cut tragically short by his death in the First World War at the age of 28. Because of this, few of his designs were actually built, but he is remembered for his skilled draftsmanship, bold sketches, and unique view of the future.
Key Ideas
The brevity of Antonio Sant'Elia's life was not the only thing that prevented his designs from becoming reality; it was as if his thinking was too futuristic for the time into which he was born. But his influence has endured, extending into mainstream science fiction cinema, including Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Ridley Scott's Bladerunner.
Important Art by Antonio Sant'Elia | |
  | Studi per una villa priva di decorazioni (1909-1910)Artwork description & Analysis: Many of Sant'Elia's early designs were made for competitions or submitted to magazines. In doing this, he garnered publicity for his work as well as getting constructive feedback on it. Studi per una villa priva di decorazioni (study for a villa without decoration) is a later version of a design for a detached house that he first submitted to La Casa magazine in 1908. Here, he shows his developing drawing skills, presenting the villa from different angles. The beginning of his distinctive Modernist architectural style is also present; geometric grids of windows, archways, curves and stair-like structures all became reoccurring features in his later works including Villa Elisi. |
 | Edifici monumentali con sculture (1911-1912)Artwork description & Analysis: In Edifici monumentali con sculture (monumental buildings with sculptures) we see a vast increase in size from Sant'Elia's previous work. The geometric features also become more prominent. The height of the towers are accentuated by the design of the rest of the building. On the left, the entrance is shrunk behind the two pyramidal towers forming a contrast that emphasizes their scale, this is further enhanced by the addition of the sculptural elements at the pinnacles of the building. On the right the windows mirror and draw attention to the larger part of the building in the background. The purpose of the designs are unclear and these could be facades of interconnected homes, a railway station, or an industrial building, demonstrating a vision of modernity where the domestic and industrial coexist in close proximity. |
 | Villa Elisi (1912)Artwork description & Analysis: Villa Elisi was designed and built as a holiday home for the industrialist Romeo Longatti. The Villa, while small in size, features the asymmetrical, geometric designs seen in much of Sant'Elia's work. The front has round stone features that wrap around the walls and the building was decorated with frescoes in the style of Gustav Klimt. These were created in conjunction with Sant'Elia's friend Girolamo Fontana and this is a clear example of the influence of Austrian Secession styles on the architect. |
More Antonio Sant'Elia Artwork and Analysis:
Influences and Connections
Artists
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Influences on Artist
Artists
| Personal Contacts
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Content compiled and written by Marley Treloar
Edited and revised, with Synopsis and Key Ideas added by Kate Stephenson
" Artist Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. . TheArtStory.org
Content compiled and written by Marley Treloar
Edited and revised, with Synopsis and Key Ideas added by Kate Stephenson
Available from:
First published on 25 Mar 2019. Updated and modified regularly. 
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