Cecilia Boccioni Forlani tombstone

The tombstone is dedicated to the mother of Umberto Boccioni, Cecilia Forlani, who died eleven years after her son, and is next to that of the famous artist.
On the marble slab are engraved only the name of the deceased and the inscription written by her eldest daughter Amelia, in which she remembers that the woman, tried by the pain for the tragic death of her son Umberto, remained silent and motionless until the end of her life. The same Umberto, a few months before leaving for Verona with his regiment, had confided to a friend through a letter that he was very worried about his mother’s health, so much so as to hide her imminent departure from the front: the greatest fear the artist was in fact the one to die leaving his mother alone and with few means of support. In addition to the nearby tombstones, the strong relationship that bound Cecilia Boccioni Forlani with her son is also witnessed by the numerous portraits that the painter dedicated to her mother, including Nudo di spalle (Controluce) of 1909, one of the best expressions of personal interpretation by Boccioni of the painting technique of divisionism.