States of Mind: Those Who Stay

States of Mind: Those Who Stay, created by Umberto Boccioni in 1911, is a pivotal drawing from the artist's foundational Futurist series exploring the complex psychological relationship between modern mobility and memory. Executed using charcoal and conté crayon on paper, this classification of work highlights the intense, graphic energy that Boccioni sought to achieve, serving as a structural precursor to his more famous oil paintings. The drawing media allowed the artist to emphasize fragmentation and high contrast, essential elements in translating the dynamism and multi-sensory experience of modern life onto a static surface.

This piece forms the third part of a triptych investigation- alongside The Farewells and Those Who Go- focusing specifically on the sense of stasis and emotional residue left behind after a separation. Rather than depicting a straightforward scene, Boccioni utilizes swirling lines and dense, overlapping planes, characteristic of Italian Futurism, to convey the internal psychological state of melancholy and isolation. The human figures within States of Mind: Those Who Stay are not distinct individuals but are dissolved into the surrounding architectural vectors, reflecting the Futurist concept that the object and its environment must be synthesized to capture universal sensations.

The influential nature of this drawing, produced in 1911, cemented Boccioni's role as the movement’s leading visual theorist. This work successfully articulates the movement’s goal of destroying academic realism by capturing a "simultaneity of vision" and multiple perspectives. This powerful example of Italian avant-garde draftsmanship, showcasing the structural planning that underpins the entire States of Mind project, is preserved in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Due to the high cultural significance of the series, high-quality prints and reproductions of this drawing are widely available for scholarly study.