Tullio Crali facts for kids

Tullio Crali (born December 6, 1910, in Igalo – died August 5, 2000, in Milan) was an Dalmatian Italian artist. He was famous for being part of an art movement called Futurism. Even though he taught himself to paint, he joined the movement a bit later, in 1929. Crali is well-known for his realistic paintings that show "speed, flying machines, and air battles." However, over his long career, he also explored other art styles.

Early Life and Art Discovery

Crali was born in a beautiful area called the Bay of Kotor in Montenegro. His family lived in Zara until 1922, when they moved to Gorizia, Italy. When he was just fifteen years old, while studying at a technical school, Crali found out about Futurism. He started painting, getting ideas from other famous Futurist artists like Giacomo Balla and Enrico Prampolini.

Crali's Artistic Journey

Aeropittura: Painting the Sky

In 1928, Crali flew in an airplane for the very first time. He loved flying so much, and his experiences as a pilot greatly influenced his art. In 1929, he met Marinetti, who started the Futurist movement, and Crali officially joined.

In the same year, a new art style called aeropittura (which means "air painting") was launched. Artists signed a paper called Perspectives of Flight. This paper said that "the changing views from flying create a totally new reality." It also said that "painting from this new reality needs a deep disregard for small details and a need to combine and change everything."

Even though he was quite young, Crali played a big part in aeropittura. His first air paintings showed military planes, like Aerial Squadron and Aerial Duel (both from 1929). In the 1930s, his paintings became more realistic. He wanted to make viewers feel what it was like to fly. His most famous work, Nose Dive on the City (1939), shows a plane diving from the pilot's view. The buildings below look dizzying because of the way he painted them.

Crali showed his art in many cities, including Trieste and Padua. In 1932, Marinetti invited him to show his work in Paris. He also took part in big art shows in Rome and Venice. Crali was also interested in stage design. He even showed his work at the International Exhibition of Sports Art during the Berlin Olympics in 1936.

Crali was good at speaking in public and was friends with Marinetti. This led him to organize Futurist events in different cities. At these events, he would read manifestos (public statements about art), including one he wrote with Marinetti. He also published a paper about "Musical Words."

After World War II: Keeping Futurism Alive

After the war, Crali lived in Turin. He continued to promote Futurist events. Even though the Futurist movement ended when Marinetti died in 1944, Crali remained dedicated to its ideas and style.

From 1950 to 1958, he lived in Paris and sometimes visited Britain. In 1958, he moved to Milan, where he stayed for the rest of his life. (He did spend five years teaching in Cairo, Egypt, though!) In Milan, he started collecting and organizing documents about his life and art. He later gave his collection and some of his artworks to the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Trento and Rovereto.

Sassintesi and Later Creations

In 1959, Crali published a new Futurist manifesto called Sassintesi (which means "Stone Syntheses"). In this, he suggested a new way of making art using natural materials. He used pebbles, stones, and rocks made of different minerals. He believed that the natural colors, shapes, and textures of the stones would help the artist create their ideas. The way the stones were placed would create a beautiful picture that connected with nature. His "sassintesi" artworks were shown in Milan in 1961.

In the late 1960s, he tried to bring back aeropittura with a new manifesto called Orbital Art. His painting Frecce Tricolori (1966) shows modern jet fighter planes. Crali continued to paint, sculpt, teach, and give lectures throughout the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

Crali wished to be buried in Macerata, where his family still lives.

Notable Works

• Le forze della curva, 1930 (Stored at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Trento and Rovereto, Rovereto)
• Acrobazie in cielo - 1930 (Galleria Arte Centro, Milan)
• Bombardamento notturno - 1931
• Ali Tricolori - 1932
• In decollo - 1932
• Ballelica - 1932
• Rivoluzione di Mondi - 1934 (Shown at the Venice Biennale and then destroyed by Crali himself)
• Bombardamento Urbano - 1935
• Battaglia aerea I - 1936
• Aerocaccia II - 1936
• Volo Agitato - 1938
• Bombardamento di una fabbrica - 1938
• Architectura - 1939
• Incuneandosi nell'abitato - 1939 (Also known as In tuffo sulla città, kept at MART)
• Prima che si apra il paracadute - 1939 (At the modern art gallery in Udine)
• Assalto di motori - 1968
• Macchine in cielo - 1980
• Kamikaze - 1980
• Le Frecce Tricolori - 1987
• Monoplano Jonathan - 1988