Gino Severini is one of the greats of Futurism, promoting the movement throughout Europe, and particularly in Paris. He first moved to the French capital from Rome in 1906, and was introduced to the circles of the artistic avant-garde by fellow Italian Amadeo Modigliani. Having published their manifesto in 1909, Severini joined the Futurists the year later. The group’s resolve was to embrace modernity and look towards the future. Their art focused upon the sensation of speed and dynamism of movement, often portrayed through depictions of abstracted dancers, machinery, cars, and bicycles, or in the case of the present painting, a tractor.

With Milan being the epicentre of Futurism, Severini was in an interesting position living in Montmartre. It allowed for him to develop a unique approach to the style, that was also influenced by the Cubism he was surrounded by. In ‘Tracteurs agricoles’ Severini adopts the Cubist practice of multiple planes of vision, dissecting the scene with defined geometric abstraction. The tractor reveals itself through spliced wheels, jiggered tyres and engine pipes.

‘Tracteurs agricoles’ is from a series of preparatory works Severini created for his epic paintings that decorate 55 meters of the hall of the Palazzo dei Congressi in Rome. Completed in 1954, Severini was commissioned by the Federation of Agrarian Consortia to create what is now known as the ‘Fregio dell’Agricoltura’ (Agricultural Frieze) for the Agricultural Exhibition.