Desecrating the Divine, Sacralizing Humanity: Futurist Religion vs. Romantic Mysticism
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Tania Collani
Abstract
Futurists openly attacked Romantic poetics for being decadent and nostalgic, at odds with Marinetti’s (organized) avant-garde, which emphasized technological progress and a strong belief in the future. Yet, the two movements had similarities, especially in their approach to the Sacred, which exalted humanity’s spiritual potential rather than traditional religions. This similar approach to the Sacred, however, took different forms: the Romantics favoured an individual mystical approach, whereas the Futurists sought to create a structured, collective religion. Ultimately, Romantics and Futurists were both in search of ‘Man-God’, but used very different rhetorics to define this shared quest. This essay examines the relationship between Futurism and Romanticism, starting precisely from the differentiation between the concepts of mysticism and religion. Futurism as an avant-garde and collective movement disliked the individualistic nature of romantic mysticism, by associating it with a sort of decadence and rejection of the present man (“self-depreciation”, in Rudolf Otto’s terms), in favour of an otherworldly projection. However, Futurists on the fringes of the movement, such as Enrico Cavacchioli or Vinicio Paladini, managed to conciliate the more mystical spirit of German Romanticism with the imperatives of modernity.
Abstract
Futurists openly attacked Romantic poetics for being decadent and nostalgic, at odds with Marinetti’s (organized) avant-garde, which emphasized technological progress and a strong belief in the future. Yet, the two movements had similarities, especially in their approach to the Sacred, which exalted humanity’s spiritual potential rather than traditional religions. This similar approach to the Sacred, however, took different forms: the Romantics favoured an individual mystical approach, whereas the Futurists sought to create a structured, collective religion. Ultimately, Romantics and Futurists were both in search of ‘Man-God’, but used very different rhetorics to define this shared quest. This essay examines the relationship between Futurism and Romanticism, starting precisely from the differentiation between the concepts of mysticism and religion. Futurism as an avant-garde and collective movement disliked the individualistic nature of romantic mysticism, by associating it with a sort of decadence and rejection of the present man (“self-depreciation”, in Rudolf Otto’s terms), in favour of an otherworldly projection. However, Futurists on the fringes of the movement, such as Enrico Cavacchioli or Vinicio Paladini, managed to conciliate the more mystical spirit of German Romanticism with the imperatives of modernity.
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Editorial IX
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Section 1: Futurism Studies
- Futurism and Theosophy: Giacomo Balla and His Circle 1
- Making the Tables Dance: Seances, Ghosts and Futurism 37
- Stati d’animo: Futurism, Theosophy and Portraiture 57
- Desecrating the Divine, Sacralizing Humanity: Futurist Religion vs. Romantic Mysticism 83
- Futurist Dissonance, Theosophical Transcendence and American Musical Ultra-Modernism, 1909–1930 107
- Esotericism and the Occult in F. T. Marinetti: Aspects of the Sacred in Futurist Gnosis 131
- Religious Traces within Polish Futurism: Entangled Ways of the Sacred 161
- Spanish Ultraism’s Sacred Woman of the Future 201
- Tullio d’Albisola’s L’anguria lirica (1934): Female Transubstantiation and a New Religion of Poetic Materiality 225
- Renewing the Sacred and the Sublime: From Early Futurist Manifestos to Marinetti’s Aeropoem of Jesus 259
- From Futurism to Spiritual Classicism: Gino Severini and the Neo-Catholic Avant-garde 281
- Leandra Angelucci Cominazzini: Revisiting the Futurist Debate on Speed, the Sacred and the Spiritual 299
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Section 2: Reviews
- Futurist Manifestos Revisited 327
- Santa Rita Pintor: Work and Life of a Portuguese Futurist Painter 333
- A New Study on Futurism in Sicily 341
- Notes on Two Novels in a Post-Neo-Futurist Key 345
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Section 3: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2018–2021 357
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Section 4: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 375
- Notes on Contributors 379
- Name Index 387
- Subject Index 411
- Geographical Index 437
Kapitel in diesem Buch
- Frontmatter I
- Table of Contents V
- Editorial IX
-
Section 1: Futurism Studies
- Futurism and Theosophy: Giacomo Balla and His Circle 1
- Making the Tables Dance: Seances, Ghosts and Futurism 37
- Stati d’animo: Futurism, Theosophy and Portraiture 57
- Desecrating the Divine, Sacralizing Humanity: Futurist Religion vs. Romantic Mysticism 83
- Futurist Dissonance, Theosophical Transcendence and American Musical Ultra-Modernism, 1909–1930 107
- Esotericism and the Occult in F. T. Marinetti: Aspects of the Sacred in Futurist Gnosis 131
- Religious Traces within Polish Futurism: Entangled Ways of the Sacred 161
- Spanish Ultraism’s Sacred Woman of the Future 201
- Tullio d’Albisola’s L’anguria lirica (1934): Female Transubstantiation and a New Religion of Poetic Materiality 225
- Renewing the Sacred and the Sublime: From Early Futurist Manifestos to Marinetti’s Aeropoem of Jesus 259
- From Futurism to Spiritual Classicism: Gino Severini and the Neo-Catholic Avant-garde 281
- Leandra Angelucci Cominazzini: Revisiting the Futurist Debate on Speed, the Sacred and the Spiritual 299
-
Section 2: Reviews
- Futurist Manifestos Revisited 327
- Santa Rita Pintor: Work and Life of a Portuguese Futurist Painter 333
- A New Study on Futurism in Sicily 341
- Notes on Two Novels in a Post-Neo-Futurist Key 345
-
Section 3: Bibliography
- A Bibliography of Publications on Futurism, 2018–2021 357
-
Section 4: Back Matter
- List of Illustrations and Provenance Descriptions 375
- Notes on Contributors 379
- Name Index 387
- Subject Index 411
- Geographical Index 437
