State to buy home of leading Futurist artist Balla

(ANSA) - ROME, DEC 2 - Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli on Monday announced that the State is buying Casa Balla, the former apartment in Rome of the early 20th-century artist Giacomo Balla, one of the leading figures of Italian Futurism.
    "Casa Balla will be bought soon", Giuli announced, presenting the exhibit the Themes of Futurism opening at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome, adding that "casa Balla is a consistent part of the show".
    The acquisition will be completed very soon, said the director general of national museums at the culture ministry Massimo Osanna.
    The apartment, in a mid-20th century building, showcases artwork, murals and furniture designed by Balla (1871-1958), who was a key figure of Italian Futurism, an early 20th-century movement that celebrated the idea that art had to be celebrated as an integral part of daily life.
    Giuli also stressed the contribution of those who reported to the MAXXI museum of 21st century art in Rome the "existence of the painting 'Expanding flower number 17' which used to belong to Casa Balla and which the MAXXI, with the ministry's support, has bought".
    It will displayed once again, together with more artwork, in the artist's apartment, Giuli added.
    Futurism was born in 1909 when poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, who was acquainted with Balla, published a manifesto hailing originality, technology, courage and modernity with a nationalist bent. (ANSA).