The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Paris Subway, Ferris Wheel and Eiffel Tower

Paris Subway, Ferris Wheel and Eiffel Tower

c. 1912–13
(Italian, 1883–1966)
Sheet: 59.6 x 48.2 cm (23 7/16 x 19 in.); Framed: 92 x 71.8 x 3 cm (36 1/4 x 28 1/4 x 1 3/16 in.)
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The blue and white text in Gino Severini's drawing refers to the signs for the Sèvres and Cambronne stations, which he passed while taking the Paris Métro to the Eiffel Tower.

Description

Gino Severini joined the Futurist movement, which emphasized the dynamism, movement, and energy of the modern city, in 1910. He began to depict modern modes of transportation and developed an interest in machines and speed. This pastel was created after Severini visited Paris, in 1911, where he admired technological advances such as the Eiffel Tower and the Métro, the city's relatively new public transportation system. Here, he suggests velocity through shifting planes and viewpoints and abruptly juxtaposing word and image.
  • after 1913-1924
    John Quinn [1870-1924], New York
    1927
    (sale, John Quinn Collection, American Art Association, New York, February 9-12, 1927, no. 412)
    after 1927-1942
    Mrs. Malcolm L. McBride, Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    1942-
    Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Fletcher, Valerie J. Dreams and Nightmares: Utopian Visions in Modern Art. Exh. Cat. Washington, DC: Hirshhorn Museum, 1983. Mentioned: p. 35
    DeGrazia, Diane and Carter E. Foster. Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Exh. Cat. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. Mentioned: p. 6; Reproduced: p. 6
    Hicken, Adrian. Apollinaire, Cubism and Orphism. New York: Routledge, 2002. Mentioned: p. 208, n. 52
    Sims, Lowery Stokes. The Persistence of Geometry: Form, Content, and Culture in the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2006. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 58-59, fig. 10
  • Pure Color: Pastels from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 19, 2016-March 19, 2017).
    Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000).
    Directions in Drawing: 1750-1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 2-August 4, 1991).
    Utopian Visions in Modern Art: Dreams and Nightmares. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (December 8, 1983-February 12, 1984).
    Futurism and the International Avant-Garde. Philadelphia Museum of Art (organizer) (October 24, 1980-January 4, 1981).
    Visual Shapes and Space. Cleveland Public Library, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 20-May 22, 1965).
  • {{cite web|title=Paris Subway, Ferris Wheel and Eiffel Tower|url=false|author=Gino Severini|year=c. 1912–13|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1942.249