With rhetorical violence, the Italian Futurists proclaimed their radical break with the past.
They no longer had an eye for the beautiful works of art and monuments of Europe’s glorious past. What they admired were racing cars, athletes, train stations, rebellious crowds and ornate factory chimneys. They sang about the nocturnal vibrating glow of armories and workshops. They glorified war.
Futuristische Manifesten(futurist manifestos), published by Flemish publisher Letterwerk, contains the most important manifestos by Italian author, journalist and futurist champion Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. The book presents the verbal power of Europe’s most striking avant-garde in a new Dutch translation by Thomas Crombez.