(Innsbruck 1894–1965 Rome)
Cavallo+Corsa+Città, 1916/17 ca., monogrammed on the base R.M.B., sculpture in painted wood, 79 x 73.5 x 64 cm

This work is registered in the Archivio Unico per il Catalogo delle opere futuriste di Roberto Marcello Baldessari, Rovereto, curated by Prof. Maurizio Scudiero, under no. B16–104 and it is accompanied by a photo-certificate of authenticity (issued 8 September 2018).

Provenance:
Private Collection, Austria
European Private Collection

Compared to the other two, both inherent to the idea of dynamism in relationship to the city, this one represents a horse while Auto+Corsa+Città depicts a car and another one a tram. The reason why I believe that Cavallo+Corsa+Città from the chronological point of view should be the first one executed by the artist, is due to the closeness of his style to Boccioni’s (and the First Futurism in general), the theme of the horse, represented by Boccioni and also by Carrà, is by all means the most immediate reference. A further step forward is outlined by the mechanism of vehicles like the tram and the automobile. These works are, in the panorama of Futurist Sculpture, quite peculiar mainly because of their rather theatrical attitude that recalls the solidification of an urban vision.”
Maurizio Scudiero, September 2018

Throughout his long artistic career Roberto Marcello Baldessari rarely executed sculptures. Today only three sculptures, all in wood, are known. Cavallo+Corsa+Città dated 1916 / 17 should be the first of these works executed by the artist.

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