Fortunato Depero is considered one of the most important representatives of the “second Futurism” and played a role in radically changing the vision of art at the beginning of the 20th century
Fortunato Depero was born in 1892 in Fondo, a small village in the Val di Non valley. After a short time in Merano, he moved with his family to Rovereto, which at that time still belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. Having always been passionate about art in all its forms and fields, he made a trip to Rome in 1913 with his partner Rosetta Amadori, which was later to represent the most important turning point in his life, both on an artistic and personal level. In the Italian capital, he made the acquaintance of two well-known representatives of the Futurist movement: Giacomo Balla and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti.
A significant connection develops: Depero moves permanently to Rome and later becomes a student of Giacomo Balla, with whom he writes the "Manifesto di Ricostruzione Futurista dell'Universo" (Manifesto for the Futurist Reconstruction of the Universe) in 1915, in which they describe themselves as Futurist abstractionists. From then on, Depero's life was marked by encounters, journeys and important projects that contributed to radically changing the world of advertising and design.
In 1959 he founded the Casa d'Arte Futurista Depero (House of Futurist Art Depero) in the historic centre of Rovereto, which is now part of the MART and open to visitors. Some of the most important works by the Trentino artist can be seen here. Fortunato Depero died in Rovereto in 1960.
