Marinetti (F. T. and Benedetta Cappa) papers, 1902-1965 (bulk 1920-1939), bulk 1920-1939

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Summary

Title:
F.T. Marinetti and Benedetta Cappa Marinetti papers
Dates:
1902-1965 (bulk 1920-1939), bulk 1920-1939
Creators:
Marinetti, F. T., 1876-1944 and Marinetti Cappa, Benedetta, 1897-1977
Abstract:
The founder and leader of the futurist movement. Married Benedetta Cappa, a futurist writer and artist, in 1923. Collection includes minor manifesto manuscripts, generally typewritten, sometimes translated or excerpted; a number of minor literary manuscripts; and 20,000 slides that reproduce the contents of Marinetti's five scrapbooks. Material on Benedetta includes handwritten corrected drafts of her three novels, and a number of essays and speeches. Some correspondence suggests the central role that Marinetti and Benedetta played relative to the other futurists, whose activities the collection selectively documents via manuscripts, photos, clippings, slides, posters, scrapbooks, and musical scores
Extent:
60 Linear Feet (145 boxes, 5 flat file folders)
Language:
Italian
Preferred citation:

Papers of F.T. Marinetti and Benedetta Cappa Marinetti, 1902-1965 (bulk 1920-1939), Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 920092.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa920092

Background

Scope and content:

This archive of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and Benedetta Cappa Marinetti papers consists primarily of material from the 1920s and 30s, though correspondence and newspaper clippings date from before and after those decades. It offers a view of FTM in the ceremonial rather than incendiary role that he played during Futurism's second phase. Pieces such as "Ritratti futuristi del Duce" suggest the extent to which he served as a propagandist for the Fascist government and adapted the tenets of Futurism to that purpose. There are a number of minor manuscripts on art and Futurist artists, generally typewritten, occasionally with corrections, and some minor literary manuscripts as well.

The material on Benedetta includes handwritten corrected drafts of her three novels and a number of essays, speeches and notes on women and art, women and Fascism, Futurism, and FTM. Benedetta's letters to her brother, Alberto Cappa, and to FTM at the Russian Front, offer an intimate view of this woman who, as clippings in her Librone document, was presented in the 1930s Italian press as a role model for Italian women. Her correspondence with fellow Futurists and with American collectors and institutions after FTM's death show her active role in preserving the accomplishments of Futurism for posterity.

Various media comprise the archive, including manuscripts, photos, clippings, slides, posters, scrapbooks, and scores. Through all these media in combination the archive selectively documents the activities of the inner circle of the Futurist movement.

Biographical / historical:

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, born in Alexandria in 1876, attended secondary school and university in France, where he began his literary career. After gaining some success as a poet, he founded and edited the journal Poesia (1905), a forum in which the theories of Futurism rather quickly evolved. With "Fondazione e Manifesto del Futurismo," published in Le Figaro (1909), Marinetti launched what was arguably the first 20th c. avant-garde movement, anticipating many of the issues of Dada and Surrealism. Like other avant-garde movements, Futurism took the momentous developments in science and industry as signaling a new historical era, demanding correspondingly innovative art forms and language. Like other avant-garde movements, Futurism found a solution in collage, which Marinetti called "parole in libertà" when applied to literary forms. Between 1909 and 1920, the period known as Futurism's heroic phase, Marinetti energetically promoted his own work, and that of fellow Futurists, through numerous manifestos, speeches, essays, meetings, performances and publications. Following WWI, in which he served, Marinetti became an active member of the Fascist party; on April 15, 1919, he and Ferruccio Vecchi led the "battle" of piazza Mercanti against socialists, communists, and anarchists, which was Italian Fascism's first decisive victory. In 1929 he was elected to the Academy of Italy. Throughout the 1920s and 30s and until his death in 1944, Marinetti sought to reconcile the theories of Futurism with the ideology of state Fascism and to serve as impresario for both.

In 1923, Marinetti married Benedetta Cappa. The author of three critically acclaimed Futurist novels, a sizable body of art work, and the mother (with Marinetti) of three girls, Benedetta wrote essays and gave speeches on women and art and women and Fascism, and was presented in the press during the 1930s as a role model for Italian women. After her husband's death, Benedetta continued to correspond with fellow Futurists and to promote Futurism by organizing exhibitions, selling the Marinetti art collection to prominent American collectors and museums, and writing catalog essays.

Acquisition information:
Acquired in 1992.
Processing information:

The papers were quickly assembled for scholarly perusal using the dealer's box guide. Brent Sverdloff wrote temporary a RLIN record and began writing a Finding Aid. Annette Leddy and Jeremy Parzen processed the papers in late 1994. Annette Leddy, with the help of Jeremy Parzen, wrote the current Finding Aid, integrating some of Visiting Scholar Esther Cohn's comments written on the dealer's box guide.

Arrangement:

The Archive is organized in nine series:

Series I: Manuscripts and Correspondence of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti;

Series II: Manuscripts and Correspondence of Benedetta Cappa Marinetti;

Series III: Assorted Manuscripts and Correspondence;

Series IV: Futurist music;

Series V: Newspaper clippings;

Series VI: Lantern slides;

Series VII: Photographs;

Series VIII: Libroni;

Series IX: Posters and oversized items.

Physical location:
Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.
Rules or conventions:
archives, personal papers, and manuscripts

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Annette Leddy and Jeremy Parzen.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-22 17:00:18 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use by qualified researchers.

Terms of access:

Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.

Preferred citation:

Papers of F.T. Marinetti and Benedetta Cappa Marinetti, 1902-1965 (bulk 1920-1939), Getty Research Institute, Research Library, Accession no. 920092.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa920092

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website