Sheet of Studies (recto); Group of Figures (verso)

The Sheet of Studies (recto); Group of Figures (verso) was created by Umberto Boccioni in 1910. Executed in graphite on paper, this preparatory drawing provides essential insight into the developmental phase of the artist’s practice, marking his transition toward the dynamic representations that would soon define the Futurist movement. The date places the work precisely at the moment Boccioni co-signed the foundational Manifesto of the Futurist Painters, underscoring its historical importance as a visual record of his evolving aesthetic.

The recto side, classified as a "Sheet of Studies," demonstrates Boccioni’s technical exploration of line, volume, and movement, capturing forms often fragmented or multiplied to suggest speed and energy. The reverse, titled "Group of Figures," likely depicts human subjects in complex spatial arrangements, reflecting the chaotic intensity of modern urban life that Futurism aimed to immortalize. Boccioni used the immediacy and precise nature of graphite to quickly capture these conceptual studies, experimenting with the decomposition of solid objects and the capture of light before translating these ideas to larger, more complex oil canvases.

This drawing illustrates the foundational concepts that informed the groundbreaking visual language Boccioni developed as he pursued dynamic representations of modern experience. As an important preparatory piece from a critical moment in early 20th-century Italian art history, the work is a key component of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s permanent collection. Due to its age and cultural significance, the artwork is widely referenced, and high-quality prints derived from institutional scans may be found within public domain archives, ensuring broad access to this significant example of Boccioni’s draftsmanship.