Maria Sacchi Reading

Maria Sacchi Reading is a print created by Umberto Boccioni in 1907. This intimate portrait is rendered using the demanding drypoint technique, printed sensitively in brown ink. The work, now housed in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exemplifies Boccioni's draftsmanship during the crucial period just preceding his definitive embrace of Futurism.

The print depicts Maria Sacchi, a woman captured in the quiet act of reading. The medium of drypoint—where the artist scratches directly into a copper plate with a needle—produces a soft, characteristic burr around the line, lending the image a subtle, atmospheric quality. Boccioni utilizes this technical characteristic to focus attention on the figure’s concentration, emphasizing the psychological depth of the sitter. The handling of the light and shadow accentuates the texture of the clothing and the volume of the figure, placing the intimate scene firmly within the tradition of modern portraiture focused on the daily lives of women.

In 1907, Boccioni was absorbing various artistic influences, moving away from strict Divisionism towards a more expressive, structural approach, visible here in the decisive lines and shading. While the artist is primarily known for his explosive paintings and sculptures centered on motion, his early prints, such as this piece, reveal a mastery of classical composition and a deep interest in portraying contemporary figures engaged in solitary, intellectual pursuits. These early experiments with etching and drypoint allowed the young Boccioni to refine his approach to line, a foundational skill critical for his later development. As a significant example of his pre-Futurist output, this work remains a key reference for studying the artist’s progression, and high-quality prints of this early masterwork are sometimes available through public domain sources.