| Mercury Passing Before the Sun | |
|---|---|
| Italian:Mercurio transita davanti al sole | |
 Version in thePeggy Guggenheim Collection | |
| Artist | Giacomo Balla |
| Year | 1914 (1914) |
| Type | oil painting |
| Medium | Tempera on paper lined with canvas |
| Subject | Transit of the planetMercury across the face of the Sun, November 17, 1914 |
| Dimensions | 120 cm × 100 cm (47 in × 39 in)[1] |
| Location | Peggy Guggenheim Collection (on long-term loan),Venice |
Mercury Passing Before the Sun (Italian:Mercurio transita davanti al sole orMercurio (che) passa davanti al sole) is the title of a series of paintings by ItalianFuturist painterGiacomo Balla, depicting the November 17, 1914,transit of Mercury across the face of theSun.
Balla, an amateur astronomer, observed the transit through a telescope likely outfitted with asmoked glass filter.[1] His composition, according to daughter Elica Balla,[2] depicts two intersecting views of the event, through the telescope and with the naked eye.[3] Green and white triangles in the painting representglare and otheroptical effects observed by Balla.[4] In several versions of the painting, overlapping spirals, suggestive of the telescope body,[5] emanate from the golden-orange orb of the magnified and filtered Sun; these encounter the brilliant white star in the upper left—the Sun as seen with the naked eye.[3]
The painting represents Balla's subjective experience of the event.[3] It exemplifies his transition to a more abstract style, as well as his interest in themes ofcosmogony;[1] he uses the opacity ofgouache to suggest a dense fusion of cosmic forces.[3] During this period, Balla had begun to experiment with the use of geometric and curving forms and transparent planes to convey movement.[4]Mercury Passing Before the Sun translates the temporal progression of Mercury's transition into a spatial progression, using methods devised by theCubists.[5]
Balla created at least a dozen versions and studies of the painting; the 120 cm × 100 cm (47 in × 39 in) version intempera, now in thePeggy Guggenheim Collection inVenice, is considered by that gallery to be the "definitive outcome" of these studies.[4] Other versions include:[1]