Amedeo Modigliani

>Amedeo Modigliani 2005-05-21T08:59:24Z 131.215.6.205 /* Selected Sculptures */ '''Amedeo Clemente Modigliani''' ([[July 12]], [[1884]] – [[January 24]], [[1920]]) was an [[Italy|Italian]] [[painter]] and [[sculptor]]. Modigliani was born into a [[Jewish]] [[Italians|Italian]] family in [[Livorno]], [[Tuscany]] and began his artistic studies in Italy before moving to [[Paris]] in [[1906]] where he began to create his unique style, influenced by the artists in his circle of friends, [[primitive art]], but standing apart from them stylistically. Sick most of his life and an abuser of [[alcohol]] and [[drugs]], as well as a known womanizer, Modigliani's life took a toll on him and he died at the early age of 35. [[Image:Modigliani.jpg|right|thumb|Portrait of Amedeo Modigliani|Amedeo Modigliani]] ==Early Life== Born into a [[Judaism|Jewish]] family in Livorno, Tuscany, Italy, Modigliani was the fourth child of Flaminio Modigliani and his [[France|French]]-born wife, Eugénie Garsin. His father was in the money-changing business, but when the business went [[bankrupt]] the family was forced to live in poverty. Young Modigliani was also beset by health problems after an attack of [[typhoid]] at the age of 14 followed by [[tuberculosis]] two years later. The tuberculosis would affect him for the rest of his life. [[Depression]] also ran in his family and Modigliani suffered from it as well. At least some of his siblings seemed to have also inherited his stubborn, independent streak. In [[1898]] his 26-year-old brother, Emmanuel, was sentenced to six months imprisonment as an [[anarchism|anarchist]]. In [[1902]], Modigliani enrolled in the ''Scuola libera di Nudo'' (Free School of Nude Studies) in [[Florence]] and a year later moved to [[Venice]] where he registered to study at the ''Istituto per le Belle Arti di Venezia''. It is in Venice that he first tried [[hashish]] and, rather than studying, began to spend time frequenting the sleazy parts of the city. ==Paris== In 1906, Modigliani moved to Paris, the then focal point of the [[avant-garde]], where he would become the epitome of the tragic artist, creating a posthumous legend almost as famous as that of [[Vincent Van Gogh]]. Settling in [[Le Bateau-Lavoir]], a [[commune]] for penniless artists in [[Montmartre]], he was soon busy painting, at first influenced by the work of [[Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec]] until [[Paul Cezanne]] changed his views. Eventually, Modigliani developed his own unique style, one that still cannot be adequately catagorized with other artists. He is noted for his fast work, usually finishing a [[portrait]] in one or two sittings and never reworked. Yet, those who posed for him said that being painted by Modigliani was like having your soul laid bare. ==Experiments with Sculpture== [[Image:Modiglianihead1911.jpg|left|thumb|''Head'' (1911) Note the influence of Cambodian art in this sculpture.]] In [[1909]], Modigliani returned home to Livorno, sickly and worn out from his wild lifestyle. He did not stay in Italy long and soon he was back in Paris, this time renting a [[studio]] in [[Montparnasse]]. He had originally seen himself as a sculptor more than a painter, and he began sculpting seriously after [[Paul Guillaume]], an ambitious young art dealer, took an interest in his work and introduced him to sculptor [[Constantin Brancusi]]. Although a series of Modigliani's sculptures were exhibited in the ''[[Salon d'Automne]]'' of [[1912]], for whatever reason he abruptly abandoned sculpting and focused solely on his painting. In Modigliani's art, there is evidence of him being influenced by primitive art from [[Africa]] and [[Cambodia]] which he probably saw in the ''[[Musée de l'Homme]]''. This interest in [[African masks]] also shows in the treatment of the sitters' faces in his portraits. The sitter's faces appear ancient, almost resembling ancient [[Egypt|Egyptian]] painting as they are flat and masklike, with distinctive almond eyes, pursed mouths, twisted noses, and elongated necks. Among his works is the portrait of his hard-drinking friend [[Chaim Soutine]] plus portraits of many of his other Montparnasse contemporaries such as [[Moise Kisling]], [[Pablo Picasso]], [[Diego Rivera]], [[Juan Gris]], [[Max Jacob]], [[Blaise Cendrars]], and [[Jean Cocteau]]. At the outset of [[World War I]], he tried to enlist in the [[army]] but was refused because of his poor health. Perhaps knowing that for health reasons his life would be short, he carried a death wish, drinking continuously and consuming large quantities of [[drugs]]. ==The War Years== [[Image:ModiglianiPompadour.jpg|frame|right|Painting of Madame Pompadour by Modigliani|''Madame Pompadour'' by Modigliani]] Known as "Modì" by the art world, but as "Dedo" to his friends, Modigliani was an extremely handsome man to whom females were greatly attracted. Women came and went until Beatrice Hastings entered his life. She stayed with him for almost two years, was the subject for several of his portraits, including ''Madame Pompadour'', and the object of much of his drunken wrath. Drunk, he was a bitter, angry person, always looking for a fight as was depicted in the famous drawing by [[Marie Vassilieff]]. Sober, he was graciously timid and charming, would quote [[Dante Alighieri]] and recite poems from [[Comte de Lautreamont| Lautreamont's]] book, ''Les Chants de Maldoror'', a copy of which he always carried with him. When the [[British]] painter [[Nina Hamnett]] arrived in Montparnasse in [[1914]], on her first evening there the smiling man at the next table in the [[café]] introduced himself as "Modigliani, painter and Jew". They became great friends. In [[1916]], Modigliani befriended the [[Poland|Polish]] poet and art dealer [[Leopold Zborovski]] and his wife Anna. Modigliani painted them several times, charging only 10 [[francs]] for a portrait. ==Jeanne Hébuterne== [[Image:Ob368.jpg|frame|left|Jeanne Hebuterne in Red Shawl]] The following summer, the [[Russia]]n sculptor [[Chana Orloff]] introduced him to a beautiful 18-year-old art student named [[Jeanne Hébuterne]] who had posed for [[Tsuguharu Foujita|Foujita]]. Jeanne came from a conservative [[bourgeois]] background and was renounced by her family, devout [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]]s, for her liaison with the painter, who in their eyes was nothing but a debauched derelict, and Jewish besides. Despite her family, soon they were living together and although Jeanne was the love of his life, their public scenes became even more famous than Modigliani's personal drunken exhibitions. On [[December 3]], [[1917]], Modigliani's first one-man [[exhibition]] was opened at the Berthe Weill Gallery. The chief of the Paris [[police]] was scandalized by Modigliani's nudes and forced him to close the exhibition within a few hours after its opening. That same year, Modigliani received a letter from a former lover Simone Thirioux, a [[French-Canadian]] woman who informed him that she had given birth to his son. He never acknowledged the child as his but after moving to [[Nice]] with Hébuterne she became pregnant and on [[November 29]], [[1918]] gave birth to a daughter whom they would also name Jeanne. ==Nice== While in Nice, a trip organized by Leopold Zborovski for Modigliani, Tsuguharu Foujita and other artists to try to sell their works to rich [[tourists]], Modigliani managed to sell a few pictures but only for a few francs each. Despite this, during this time he produced most of the paintings that would ultimately become his most popular and valued works. During his lifetime he sold a number of his works, but never for any great amount of money. What funds he did receive, soon vanished for drugs including alcohol. In May of [[1919]] he returned to Paris, where, with Jeanne and their daughter, he rented an apartment in the rue de la Grande Chaumière. While there, both Jeanne and Modigliani painted portraits of each other and of themselves. ==Death== Although he continued to paint, by then his lifestyle had taken its toll and Modigliani's health was deteriorating rapidly, his [[alcoholism|alcoholic]] blackouts becoming more frequent. After not being heard from for several days by his friends, his downstairs neighbor checked in on them and found Modigliani delirious and in bed, holding onto Jeanne, who was nearly nine months pregnant. A doctor was summoned but there was little that could be done because Modigliani was suffering from tubercular [[meningitis]]. Modigliani died without regaining consciousness. There was an enormous [[funeral]], attended by many from the artistic communities in Montmartre and Montparnasse. Jeanne Hébuterne, who had been taken to her parents' home, threw herself out of a fifth-floor window two days after Modigliani's death, killing herself and her unborn child. Modigliani was interred in [[Père Lachaise|Père Lachaise Cemetery]]. Jeanne Hébuterne was buried at the [[Cimetière de Bagneux]], near Paris and it was not until [[1930]] that her embittered family allowed her to be moved to rest beside Modigliani. Their orphaned 15-month-old daughter Jeanne was adopted by Modigliani's sister in Florence. As an adult, she would write an important biography of her father titled: ''Modigliani: Man and Myth''. Today, Modigliani is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the [[20th century]], his works on display in the great museums of the world. His sculptures rarely change hands and the few paintings that change hands can sell for more than US$15.6 million. His ''Nu couché (Sur le côté gauche)'' sold in [[November]] of [[2003]] for US$26,887,500. ==Selected Sculptures== (Only 27 sculptures by Modigliani are known to exist.) *''Head of a Woman'' ([[1910]]/[[1911]]). *''Head'' (1911-[[1913]]). *''Head'' (1911-1912). *''Head'' (1912). *''Rose Caryatid'' (1914). :In [[1984]], in Livorno, a group of three young artists declared they had found a couple of face sculptures by Modigliani in a river. It was later verified that these "faces" had been produced by the three boys with a ''Black&Decker'', but already the major critics had sworn they were authentic. ==Selected paintings== *''The Jewess'' ([[1908]]). *''Nude with a hat'' (1908). *''The Cellist'' ([[1909]]). *''The Amazon'' (1909). *''Nude--Caryatid'' (1913). *''Rose Caryatid with Blue Border'' (1913). *''Portrait of [[Diego Rivera]]'' (1914). *''The Pretty Housewife'' ([[1915]]). *''Portrait of [[Juan Gris]]'' (1915). *''Madam Pompadour (Portrait of Beatrice Hastings)'' (1915). *''The Sculptor [[Jacques Lipchitz]] and His Wife Berthe Lipchitz'' (1916). *''Portrait of Beatrice Hastings'' (1916). *''Portrait of [[Max Jacob]]'' (1916). *''Nu couché de dos (Reclining Nude from the Back)'' (1917). *''Nude Sdraiato'' (1917). *''Nude on a Blue Cushion'' (1917). *''Portrait of Elena Pavlowski'' (1917). *''Portrait of [[Chaim Soutine]]'' (1917). *''Nude'' (1917). *''Nude on a Divan'' (1918). *''Portrait of Leopold Zborovski'' (1918). *''Young Redhead in an Evening Dress'' (1918). *''Portrait of [[Blaise Cendrars]]'' (1918). *''Jeanne Hébuterne Seated in Profile'' (1918). *''Little Mary'',(''petite Marie'') (1918).[http://www.art-katroz.com/pages_repros] *''Jeanne Hébuterne, Left Arm Behind her Head'' (1919). *''Boy with blue waistcoat'' (1919). *''Cypress Trees and Houses'' (1919). *''The Little Peasant'' (1919). *''Self Portrait'' (1919). ==External links== *[http://www.modigliani-amedeo.com/HomeENG.htm Official site of the Archives légales of Modigliani] *[http://www.abcgallery.com/M/modigliani/modigliani.html Amedeo Modigliani at Olga's Gallery] *[http://www.whoismodi.com Companion site to major exhibition 'Modigliani and the Artists of Montparnasse'] [[Category:1884 births|Modigliani, Amedeo]] [[Category:1920 deaths|Modigliani, Amedeo]] [[Category:Italian painters|Modigliani, Amedeo]] [[Category:Italian sculptors|Modigliani, Amedeo]] [[Category:Modern artists|Modigliani, Amedeo]] [[Category:Drug-related deaths|Modigliani, Amedeo]] [[Category:Artists|Modigliani, Amedeo]] [[de:Amedeo Modigliani]] [[es:Amedeo Modigliani]] [[fr:Amedeo Modigliani]] [[it:Amedeo Modigliani]] [[he:אמדאו מודליאני]] [[nl:Amedeo Modigliani]] [[ja:アメデオ・モディリアーニ]] [[pt:Amedeo Modigliani]] [[ro:Amedeo Modigliani]]