Amedeo Modigliani description of his robot. Amedeo Modigliani, biography and paintings

Amedeo (Iedidia) Clemente Modigliani (Italian: Amedeo Clemente Modigliani; July 12, 1884, Livorno, Kingdom of Italy - January 24, 1920, Paris, French Third Republic) - Italian artist and sculptor, one of the most famous artists late XIX - early XX centuries, representative of expressionism.

Modigliani grew up in Italy, where he studied ancient art and the works of the Renaissance masters, until he moved to Paris in 1906. In Paris, he met artists such as Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuşi, who had a great influence on his work. Modigliani had poor health - he often suffered from lung diseases and died of tuberculous meningitis at the age of 35. The artist’s life is known only from a few reliable sources.

Modigliani's legacy consists mainly of paintings and sketches, but from 1909 to 1914 he was mainly engaged in sculptures. Both on canvas and in sculpture, Modigliani's main motif was man. In addition, several landscapes have been preserved; still lifes and genre paintings did not interest the artist. Modigliani often turned to the works of representatives of the Renaissance, as well as to African art, popular at that time. At the same time, Modigliani’s work cannot be attributed to any of the modern movements of that time, such as cubism or fauvism. Because of this, art historians consider Modigliani's work separately from the main trends of the time. During his lifetime, Modigliani’s works were not successful and became popular only after the artist’s death: at two Sotheby’s auctions in 2010, two paintings by Modigliani were sold for 60.6 and 68.9 million US dollars, and in 2015, “Reclining Nude” was sold at Christie's for $170.4 million.

Amedeo (Iedidia) Modigliani was born into a family of Sephardic Jews Flaminio Modigliani and Eugenia Garcin in Livorno (Tuscany, Italy). He was the youngest (fourth) of the children. His older brother, Giuseppe Emanuele Modigliani (1872-1947, family name Meno), was later a famous Italian anti-fascist politician. His mother's great-grandfather, Solomon Garcin, and his wife Regina Spinosa settled in Livorno in the 18th century (however, their son Giuseppe moved to Marseille in 1835); The father's family moved to Livorno from Rome in the mid-19th century (the father himself was born in Rome in 1840). Flaminio Modigliani (son of Emanuele Modigliani and Olympia Della Rocca) was a mining engineer who supervised coal mines in Sardinia and managed nearly thirty acres of forest land that his family owned.

By the time Amedeo (family name Dedo) was born, the family’s affairs (trade in wood and coal) had fallen into disrepair; mother, born and raised in Marseille in 1855, had to earn a living by teaching French and translations, including works by Gabriele d'Annunzio. In 1886, his grandfather, Isaaco Garsen, who became impoverished and moved to his daughter from Marseille, settled in Modigliani’s house, and until his death in 1894 he was seriously involved in raising his grandchildren. His aunt Gabriela Garcin (who later committed suicide) also lived in the house and thus Amedeo was immersed in French from childhood, which later facilitated his integration in Paris. It is believed that it was the romantic nature of the mother that had a huge influence on the worldview of the young Modigliani. Her diary, which she began to keep shortly after Amedeo's birth, is one of the few documentary sources about the artist's life.

At the age of 11, Modigliani fell ill with pleurisy, and in 1898 with typhus, which was an incurable disease at that time. This became a turning point in his life. According to the stories of his mother, while lying in a feverish delirium, Modigliani raved about the masterpieces of Italian masters, and also recognized his destiny as an artist. After recovery, Amedeo's parents allowed Amedeo to leave school so that he could begin taking drawing and painting lessons at the Livorno Academy of Arts.

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(1884-1920) Italian artist, graphic artist and sculptor

IN modern consciousness Amedeo Modigliani's appearance was largely influenced by the brilliant performance of the French actor Gerard Philippe in the film Montparnasse 19. He created the image of an unrecognized genius who died alone and in poverty. But this is only partly true: contemporaries recognized the talent of Amedeo Modigliani. However, at the beginning of the century there were many artists in Paris, and not all of them were able to assert themselves, become famous and rich. Nevertheless, a legend has been created, and it is very difficult to change the prevailing stereotype.

Biographical information about Amedeo Modigliani is contradictory and extremely scarce. Thus, according to one of the legends, it was assumed that the artist’s mother came from the family of B. Spinoza. In fact, the famous philosopher died without leaving any offspring.

As for the father, he was not the owner of the bank, as Modigliani’s admirers said, but was only its founder. Therefore, the fact that the poor artist in Italy had rich relatives who did not support him in time also belongs to the realm of fiction.

In fact, both Amedeo Modigliani's father and mother came from Orthodox Jewish families. His ancestors settled in Livorno, where the mother of the future artist Eugenia Garsen married Flaminio Modigliani. They had four children - Emmanuele, a future lawyer and member of parliament, Margherita, who became the adoptive mother of an artist's daughter, Umberto, who became an engineer, and, finally, Amedeo. By the time of his birth, the family was on the verge of ruin, and only with the help of Modigliani’s friends were they able to somehow get back on their feet. Amedeo Garcin, Eugenia's older brother, helped more than others. He continued to help the future artist, who was named after his uncle.

Amedeo Modigliani studied quite well, but school did not interest him at all. In 1898 he suffered a serious illness - typhus. Apparently, it was at this time that Modigliani realized that he could paint. Soon he was so captivated by drawing that he began to ask his mother to find him a teacher. At the age of twelve, Amedeo began studying in a studio run by Guglielmo Micheli, a proponent of post-impressionism. However, Amedeo Modigliani's development took place under the influence of many artists. His work was influenced by his passion for Russian artists, primarily representatives of the Siena and Florentine schools - Sandro Botticelli and Filippo Liss.

At the end of 1900, Amedeo Modigliani fell ill again - typhus caused complications in his lungs. On the advice of doctors, he went south and lived in Naples for two years. There he first began to paint sculpture and architecture. In the studies of sculptures of Neapolitan cathedrals, the ovals of his future paintings are already visible.

In 1902, Amedeo Modigliani returned to Livorno, but soon left his homeland again. For several months he attended the Free School of Nude in Florence. This educational institution was a branch of the Institute of Fine Arts in Venice. There the famous graphic artist Fattori became his teacher. From him Modigliani adopted an enduring love for line, simplicity of form while constantly maintaining volume. Modigliani loved to paint nudes, admiring the fragility and grace of the female body. He basically creates intimate portraits, avoiding deliberate pretentiousness, characteristic, for example, of Picasso’s paintings. He also paid great attention to space, achieving deliberate asymmetry. At the same time, his works are distinguished by a special lyricism; when studying them, a feeling of fragility and unreliability of the outside world is born.

With the help of his uncle, banker Amedeo Garcin, Amedeo Modigliani travels to Venice several times. But gradually he begins to understand that he must definitely get to Paris, which was then considered an artistic Mecca. In 1906, Modigliani finally settled in Paris.

He initially enrolled in the Colarossi Academy, but soon left it because he could not come to terms with the confines of the academic tradition. Amedeo Modigliani rents a studio in Montmartre, where his first Parisian works appeared. But a year later the artist moved from Montmartre. At that time, he gained an admirer - Doctor Paul Alexander. Together with his brother, the doctor ran a kind of shelter for poor artists. Modigliani settled there in the fall of 1907. It was Alexander who became the buyer of the “Jewish Woman,” for which he then paid only two hundred francs.

And a little later, he convinced Amedeo Modigliani to give his works to the exhibition of the Salon of Independents. At the end of 1907, five works by the Italian master were exhibited there. The doctor's friends bought up these paintings. In the fall, Modigliani exhibited at the Salon again, but this time no one bought his work. Depression, complete loneliness in which the artist found himself because of his “explosive” character, and addiction to alcohol became the reason for the appearance of a kind of internal barrier that hindered him in all subsequent years.

Amedeo Modigliani constantly communicated with his contemporaries - J. Braque, M. Vlaminck, Pablo Picasso. Fate will give him only fourteen years for creativity. During this time, the young man will develop into an interesting artist who will create his own unique way of depicting figures and human faces, dominated by swan necks, elongated ovals, somewhat elongated torsos, and almond-shaped eyes without pupils.

At the same time, all of Modigliani’s characters are easily recognizable, although what we have before us is precisely the author’s vision of his heroes, close at the same time to decadent stylization and African sculpture.

Amedeo Modigliani's portraits were written partly under the influence of Cezanne, whose major exhibition he saw in 1907. From his passion for Cézanne comes attempts to convey the subject through a special plastic space and a new palette of colors. But even in this case Modigliani retains his extraordinary vision of the hero, almost always depicting a seated man, as, for example, in his painting “Sitting Boy”.

Feeling sorry for the artist, some specially ordered paintings from him to support him. But mostly he painted close people - M. Jacob, L. Zborovsky, P. Picasso, D. Rivera. One series of portraits was inspired in 1914 by a meeting with the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova. Unfortunately, only one drawing from the entire cycle has survived, the one that Akhmatova took with her. The dominant feature of the space is the famous running line of Amedeo Modigliani.

Acquaintance with Akhmatova cannot be considered accidental. We should not forget that already in his youth Modigliani was influenced by the philosopher F. Nietzsche, as well as the poet and writer G. D. Annunzio. He knew classical Italian and new French symbolist poetry very well, read by heart F. Villon, Dante, Sh . Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud. At the beginning of the 20th century, a passion for the philosophy of A. Bergson came.

The versatility of his interests, passion for travel, and the desire to constantly discover new things in communication with his contemporaries led Modigliani to turn to different forms of art. Almost simultaneously with his serious paintings, his sculptures appeared.

Having chosen the path of a free artist, Modigliani leads a bohemian lifestyle. He doesn't finish art schools, but only is in them, tries hashish and turns from a shy, modest young man into a cult figure. Everyone who knew Modigliani noted his unusual appearance and penchant for extraordinary actions. At the same time, his penchant for alcohol and drugs can be explained by the fact that he sought to overcome internal insecurity or simply succumbed to the influence of friends.

Amedeo Modigliani has many things in common with Matisse - the laconicism of the line, the clarity of the silhouette, the generality of the form. But Modigliani does not have Matisse’s monumentalism, his images are much chamberer, more intimate (women’s portraits, nudes), Modigliani’s line has extraordinary beauty. The generalized drawing conveys the fragility and grace of the female body, the flexibility of the long neck, and the sharp characteristic of the male pose. You recognize an artist by a certain type of face: close-set eyes, a laconic line of a small mouth, a clear oval, but these repeated techniques of writing and drawing in no way destroy the individuality of each image.

At the end of his life path Amedeo Modigliani met the aspiring artist Jeanne Hebuterne, and they began to live together. As usual, Modigliani painted a portrait of a person who had become close to him. But, unlike his previous friends, she became a ray of happiness and light for him. However, their relationship was short-lived. In the winter of 1920, Modigliani died quietly in the hospital. After the funeral, Zhanna returned to her parents. But there she found herself in complete isolation, because the Catholic family could not come to terms with the fact that her husband was a Jew. Despite the fact that at this time Zhanna was expecting their second child, she did not want to live without her lover and jumped out of the window. She was buried a few days later.

After the death of her parents, little Jeanne was raised by Modigliani's relatives; they preserved some of his paintings and did not stop the girl from being interested in painting. When she grew up, she became her father's biographer and created a book about him.

The creative legacy of Amedeo Modigliani has spread throughout the world. True, many of the artist’s works have not survived due to the nomadic lifestyle author. Modigliani often paid with his paintings, gave them to friends or gave them for safekeeping. Some of them died as the First World War was going on. Thus, for example, a folder with drawings left by the Russian writer I. Ehrenburg at the embassy of the Provisional Government in 1917 disappeared.

Amedeo Modigliani became a unique symbol of his difficult era. He was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery. There is a short inscription on the grave: “Death overtook him on the threshold of glory.”

His personality

Amedeo was brought up in the Jewish family of businessman Flaminio Modigliani and Eugenia Garsen. The Modigliani family comes from the rural area of the same name south of Rome. Amedeo's father had once traded coal and firewood, and now owned a modest brokerage office and, in addition, was somehow connected with the exploitation of silver mines in Sardinia. Amedeo was born just when officials came to his parents’ house to take away the property that had already been described for debts. For Eugenia Garsen, this was a monstrous surprise, since according to Italian laws, the property of a woman in labor is inviolable. Just before the arrival of the judges, the household hastily piled everything that was most valuable in the house onto her bed. In general, a scene took place in the style of Italian comedies of the 50s and 60s. Although in fact there was nothing funny in the events that shook the Modigliani house just before the birth of Amedeo, and the mother saw in them a bad omen for the newborn.

In his mother's diary, two-year-old Dedo received his first description: A little spoiled, a little capricious, but good-looking, like an angel. In 1895 he suffered a serious illness. Then the following entry appeared in my mother’s diary: Dedo had very severe pleurisy, and I had not yet recovered from the terrible fear for him. The character of this child is not yet sufficiently formed for me to express a definite opinion about him. Let's see what will develop from this cocoon. Maybe an artist? F - another significant phrase from the lips of the observant and passionately loving Evgenia Garsen.

At the beginning of 1906, among the young artists, writers, and actors who lived in Montmartre as a kind of colony, a new figure appeared and immediately attracted attention. It was Amedeo Modigliani, who had just arrived from Italy and settled on rue Colancourt, in a small barn-workshop in the middle of a wasteland overgrown with bushes. He is 22 years old, he is dazzlingly handsome, his quiet voice seemed hot, his gait seemed flying, and his whole appearance seemed strong and harmonious.

In communicating with any person, he was aristocratically polite, simple and benevolent, and immediately endeared him to his spiritual responsiveness. Some said then that Modigliani was an aspiring sculptor, others that he was a painter. Both were true.

Bohemian life quickly attracted Modigliani. Modigliani, in the company of his artist friends (among them Picasso), became addicted to drinking, and was often seen walking the streets drunk, and sometimes naked.

He was called a homeless tramp. His restlessness was obvious. To some, it seemed like an attribute of an unlucky lifestyle, characteristic feature bohemians, others saw here almost the dictates of fate, and, it seems, everything agreed that this eternal homelessness was a blessing for Modigliani, because it unleashed his wings for creative flights.

His fights with men over ladies became part of Montmartre folklore. He used huge amounts of cocaine and smoked marijuana.

In 1917, the artist's exhibition, containing mainly nude images, was closed by the police. It so happened that this exhibition was the first and last during the artist’s lifetime.

Modigliani continued to write until tuberculous meningitis brought him to the grave. While he was alive, he was known only in the Parisian artist community, but by 1922 Modigliani had gained worldwide fame.

Sex life

Modigliani loved women, and they loved him. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of women have been in the bed of this elegant handsome man.

Back at school, Amedeo noticed that girls paid special attention to him. Modigliani said that at the age of 15 he was seduced by a maid working in their house.

Although he, like many of his colleagues, was not averse to visiting brothels, the bulk of his mistresses were his models.

And during his career he changed hundreds of models. Many posed for him naked, interrupting several times during the session to make love.

Modigliani liked simple women most of all, for example, laundresses, peasant women, and waitresses.

These girls were terribly flattered by the attention of the handsome artist, and they obediently gave themselves to him.

Sexual partners

Despite his many sexual partners, Modigliani loved only two women in his life.

The first was Beatrice Hastings, an English aristocrat and poetess, five years older than the artist. They met in 1914 and immediately became inseparable lovers.

They drank together, had fun and often fought. Modigliani, in a rage, could drag her by the hair along the sidewalk if he suspected her of attention to other men.

But despite all these dirty scenes, it was Beatrice who was his main source of inspiration. During the heyday of their love, Modigliani created his best works. Still, this stormy romance could not last long. In 1916, Beatrice ran away from Modigliani. Since then they have not seen each other again.

The artist grieved for his unfaithful girlfriend, but not for long.

In July 1917, Modigliani met 19-year-old Jeanne Hebuterne.

The young student came from a French Catholic family. The delicate, pale girl and the artist settled together, despite the resistance of Jeanne’s parents, who did not want a Jewish son-in-law. Jeanne not only served as a model for the artist’s works, she went through with him years of serious illness, periods of rudeness and outright rowdyism.

In November 1918, Jeanne gave birth to Modigliani’s daughter, and in July 1919, he proposed marriage to her “as soon as all the papers arrive.”

Why they never got married remains a mystery, since these two were, as they say, made for each other and remained together until his death 6 months later.

When Modigliani lay dying in Paris, he invited Jeanne to join him in death, “so that I could be with my beloved model in paradise and enjoy eternal bliss with her.”

On the day of the artist’s funeral, Zhanna was on the verge of despair, but did not cry, but was only silent the entire time.

Pregnant with their second child, she threw herself from the fifth floor to her death.

A year later, at the insistence of the Modigliani family, they were united under one gravestone. The second inscription on it read:

Jeanne Hebuterne. Born in Paris in April 1898. Died in Paris on January 25, 1920. Faithful companion of Amedeo Modigliani, who did not want to survive separation from him.

Modigliani and Anna Akhmatova

A. A. Akhmatova met Amedeo Modigliani in 1910 in Paris, during her honeymoon.

Her acquaintance with A. Modigliani continued in 1911, at the same time the artist created 16 drawings - portraits of A. A. Akhmatova. In her essay about Amedeo Modigliani, she wrote: In 10, I saw him extremely rarely, only a few times. Nevertheless, he wrote to me all winter. (I remember several phrases from his letters, one of them: Vous etes en moi comme une hantise / You are like an obsession in me). He didn’t tell me that he wrote poetry.

As I now understand, what struck him most about me was my ability to guess thoughts, see other people’s dreams and other little things that those who know me have long been accustomed to.

At this time, Modigliani was raving about Egypt. He took me to the Louvre to see the Egyptian section and assured me that everything else was unworthy of attention. He painted my head in the attire of Egyptian queens and dancers and seemed completely captivated by the great art of Egypt. Apparently Egypt was his latest hobby. Soon he becomes so original that you don’t want to remember anything when looking at his canvases.

He did not draw me from life, but at his home - he gave these drawings to me. There were sixteen of them. He asked me to frame them and hang them in my room. They died in a Tsarskoye Selo house in the first years of the revolution. Only one survived; unfortunately, there is less anticipation of his future in him than in the others."

He died in poverty so that his descendants could compete with their fortunes, trying to get paintings by the famous master into their collections. The name of Amedeo Modigliani is shrouded in legends and fraught with scandals. Noise and foam often accompany the fate of true geniuses. This is what happened with this great painter.

Genius since childhood

The famous Italian artist of Jewish origin Amedeo Modigliani was born in Livorno in 1884. His father declared himself bankrupt when his son was very young, and Amedeo's mother, Eugenia, took full care of the family.

"Boy in a Blue Shirt" 1919
The woman literally idolized her youngest son. He was sickly and therefore loved by his mother even more. Amedeo responded to Eugenia with reality and, as in most Jewish families, was too attached to his mother.

Eugenia Modigliani is trying to ensure that her beloved baby receives a comprehensive education. When Amedeo turned 14, she sent him to the school of the artist Micheli. The teenager literally goes crazy about painting and paints all day and night.

However, the health of young Modigliani is still weak, and in order to treat him, in 1900 Eugenia takes her son to Capri, visiting Rome, Venice, and Florence along the way. There the young artist gets acquainted with the paintings of the greatest Italian masters and even takes several lessons from Botticelli himself.

"Pink Blouse" 1919
Two years later, Amedeo begins to study the Florentine school of painting, and then takes lessons from Venetian masters.

So, learning from great examples, Modigliani began to develop his own technique.

Bohemian Paris

Having worked in Italy for several years, at some point Amedeo realizes that he does not have enough air. We need new soil, new space in order to grow and move forward. And he moves to France.

Modigliani arrives in Paris in 1906 with no money and only painting supplies. He wanders around cheap furnished apartments, drinks a lot, goes on carouses and, as they say, even tries drugs, which does not prevent him from strictly monitoring his appearance. Modigliani was always impeccably dressed, even if this meant he had to wash his shirt every night. It’s no wonder that women are crazy about the bohemian but poor artist.

Akhmatova and Modigliani

Acquaintance with the great Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova opened new stage in the work of Amedeo. Akhmatova came to Paris with her husband Nikolai Gumilev. But this does not stop the artist. Amedeo begins to court Anna and literally idolizes her. She calls her the Egyptian queen and draws a lot.

"The Artist's Wife" 1918
True, only one portrait of the master has survived to this day, which Akhmatova considered her main wealth. Two more pencil drawings of a nude Akhmatova were found not so long ago.

The rest of Modigliani's paintings perished or disappeared after the revolution.

Modigliani and Hastings

After breaking up with Akhmatova, Modigliani fell into depression, from which a new relationship brought him out. Journalist and literary critic, traveler and poet Beatrice Hastings met the artist in 1914.

They both turned out to be so emotional and hot that the whole of Paris watched their whirlwind romance with curiosity. Quarrels, scenes of jealousy, jumping out of windows, fights and equally violent reconciliation. This love drained both of them.

"Jeanne Hebuterne in a Red Shawl" 1917
Beatrice tried to wean Amedeo from alcohol, but she was not successful. The scandals became more and more prolonged. And in the end, the woman decides to break off the relationship.

However, this period is considered the most fruitful in terms of creativity. Critics call paintings inspired by the muse Beatrice the best in creative heritage Modigliani.

Last love

An artist cannot live without love. A cold heart is incapable of creativity. And so, in 1917, he meets a student named Zhanna, whom he first makes his model, and then falls madly in love with her.

Jeanne's parents rebelled against such a relationship. A Jew leading a riotous lifestyle seems to them to be the worst match for their daughter that they can think of. However, the couple is happy. So that their happiness is not interfered with, they leave for Nice. There Zhanna finds out that she is pregnant. Modigliani invites her to legalize the relationship, but the sharply deteriorating state of health and worsening tuberculosis forces her to postpone these plans.

“Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne” 1918
The birth of a daughter, who was named after Amedeo's beloved, Zhanna, makes her forget about her problems for a while. However, not for long.

In 1919, Amedeo and Jeanne and their daughter returned to Paris. The artist was very bad. Tuberculosis is progressing. Amedeo ends up in a clinic for the poor.

At this time, his agent begins to slowly sell the master's paintings. Interest in the painting of Amedeo Modigliani began to awaken. However, the artist will no longer know about this.

He died in complete poverty in a homeless shelter, and his friend Zhanna, having learned about this, jumped out of the window out of grief. At this time, she was carrying her second child, Amedeo.

All of Paris took to the streets to see off the genius on his last journey. His girlfriend was modestly buried the next day, recognizing her rights as the wife of the deceased artist.

"Girl in a Black Apron" 1918
In the end, Jeanne’s parents also came to terms with their daughter’s fate, ten years later agreeing to rebury the girl’s ashes in Modigliani’s grave. So after death, the lovers were united with each other forever.

Well, their daughter grew up and devoted her whole life to studying the creativity of her parents.

The special world of Amedeo Modigliani

The world of Amedeo Modigliani is a man-universe. His heroes are almost gods. They are beautiful in their external, physical beauty. But this is a very unusual beauty. Sometimes it seems that the characters’ characters break out of their corporeal shell and begin to live their own separate lives, they are so vividly written.

"Oscar Meshchaninov" 1917
Modigliani paints passers-by, acquaintances, children. He is not interested in surroundings - people are important to him.

He often paid for food with these paintings. And ironically, years after their death, they were worth fortunes. During his lifetime, the genius was not understood, and Modigliani, in fact, always remained incredibly lonely, an unrecognized genius.

Unfortunately, this often happens to real creators: their fame only reaches them after death.

And Constantin Brancusi, who had a great influence on his work. Modigliani had poor health - he often suffered from lung diseases and died of tuberculous meningitis at the age of 35. The artist’s life is known only from a few reliable sources.

Modigliani's legacy consists mainly of paintings and sketches, but from 1914 to 1914 he was mainly engaged in sculptures. Both on canvas and in sculpture, Modigliani's main motif was man. In addition, several landscapes have survived; still lifes and genre paintings did not interest the artist. Modigliani often turned to the works of representatives of the Renaissance, as well as to African art, which was popular at that time. At the same time, Modigliani’s work cannot be attributed to any of the modern movements of that time, such as cubism or fauvism. Because of this, art historians consider Modigliani's work separately from the main trends of the time. During his lifetime, Modigliani’s works were not successful and became popular only after the artist’s death: at two Sotheby’s auctions in 2010, two paintings by Modigliani were sold for 60.6 and 68.9 million US dollars, and in 2015 “Reclining Nude” was sold at Christie's for $170.4 million.

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✪ Modigliani, "Girl in a Shirt"

Subtitles

We are in the Albertina Gallery. Before us is Modigliani’s painting “Girl in a Shirt”. This is a classic work by Modigliani. The girl is not quite in a nightgown. You're right. She is covered with some white cloth. You used the word “classical”, and I think it’s quite appropriate here. Look at the beautiful curves of the girl's body. These contours remind me of ancient Greek sculptures or even the elongated, curved nudes in Ingres's paintings. I think this is a sign of a crisis. The modernist artist starts from the Italian tradition and tries to find a connection between the 20th century, between all the principles of modernism with its self-awareness and, of course, its history. Modigliani emphasizes that he uses these materials completely consciously. Look at the girl's skin. You mentioned Ingres. In his paintings, the skin appears smooth, porcelain. This is closer to the academic tradition of the 19th century. Here the surface is rough, the paint applies unevenly. It is more like plaster and not smooth porcelain at all. Thanks to this, the viewer pays attention to the paint, and moreover, to the method of applying the paint chosen by the artist. You're right, this girl's skin doesn't look like porcelain. It resembles fresco plaster or terracotta. And yet the influence of classicism is felt here. But don’t forget that this is 1918. Braque and Picasso have already destroyed form, broken space, and Modigliani deliberately creates a classic, timeless image. I think you're right. This is, first of all, a nude, the most traditional object of the image. Here you can feel the great respect for tradition that the artist put into the picture. But at the same time, it emphasizes the system of perception or image, which is associated not with the object of observation, but with the picture itself. I see this, for example, in the way the arms and legs seem to be made of a chain geometric shapes, and not depicted in accordance with how the muscles and bones are actually located in the girl’s body. Yes, but this is also true for Ingres. Yes, that's right. Ingres begins to freely interpret the structure of the human body. Here, on the one hand, Ingres, and on the other, Braque and Picasso. There is a certain convention here that Ingres would never allow. For example, look at the girl's hands. The left palm, lying on the knee, is only outlined in orange, terracotta paint, and the fingertips are indicated with thin orange-red lines. The essence is in the process of creating a picture. In the way the artist finds the necessary forms, lines, and the necessary visual means. I think Modigliani draws our attention to this. Yes, he wants us to see this girl, but he also wants us to see the creative process. So he allows himself to leave the pencil lines. And even the canvas is visible here and there. Right. And many different types of strokes, different painting techniques. Much of what relates to the creative process is not hidden here, but is presented to the viewer. In a sense, the process of designing, creating, thinking about the meaning and method of representation is revealed to us here. Yes, you are absolutely right. I think Modigliani really draws our attention to different types strokes: some are fast, others are neat, others are very gentle. In addition, Modigliani, as often happens, did not draw the eyes. Thanks to this, as in the case of classical statues, you can look at the forms without being distracted by your gaze. By turning the eyes into angular ovals without pupils that cannot look at the viewer, the artist reminds us of geometry, abstraction, and finally, form. The early 20th century was an incredible period of tension between image, technique and the meaning of a work in a world where the process of art itself was recognized as art. Subtitles by the Amara.org community

Biography

Childhood

Amedeo (Iedidia) Modigliani was born to Sephardic Jewish parents Flaminio Modigliani and Eugenia Garcin in Livorno (Tuscany, Italy). He was the youngest (fourth) of the children. His older brother, Giuseppe Emanuele Modigliani (1872-1947, family name Meno), - later a famous Italian anti-fascist politician. His mother's great-grandfather, Solomon Garcin, and his wife Regina Spinosa settled in Livorno in the 18th century (however, their son Giuseppe moved to Marseille in 1835); the father's family moved to Livorno from Rome in the mid-19th century (the father himself was born in Rome in 1840). Flaminio Modigliani (son of Emanuele Modigliani and Olympia Della Rocca) was a mining engineer who supervised coal mines in Sardinia and managed nearly thirty acres of forest land that his family owned.

By the time Amedeo (family name) was born Dedo) the family’s affairs (trade of firewood and coal) fell into disrepair; his mother, born and raised in Marseille in 1855, had to earn a living by teaching French and translating, including the works of Gabriele d'Annunzio. In 1886, his grandfather, Isaaco Garsen, who became impoverished and moved to his daughter from Marseille, settled in Modigliani’s house, and until his death in 1894, he was seriously involved in raising his grandchildren. His aunt Gabriela Garcin (who later committed suicide) also lived in the house and thus Amedeo was immersed in French from childhood, which later facilitated his integration in Paris. It is believed that it was the romantic nature of the mother that had a huge influence on the worldview of the young Modigliani. Her diary, which she began to keep shortly after Amedeo's birth, is one of the few documentary sources about the artist's life.

Study in Italy

In 1898, Modigliani began visiting Guglielmo Micheli's private art studio in Livorno. At 14 years old, he was the youngest student in his class. In addition to lessons in a studio with a strong focus on impressionism, Modigliani learned to depict the nude in the atelier of Gino Romiti. By 1900, young Modigliani's health had deteriorated, in addition he fell ill with tuberculosis and was forced to spend the winter of 1900-1901 with his mother in Naples, Rome and Capri. From his travels, Modigliani wrote five letters to his friend Oscar Ghiglia, from which one can learn about Modigliani's attitude towards Rome.

In the spring of 1901, Modigliani followed Oscar Ghiglia to Florence - they were friends despite the nine-year age difference. After spending the winter in Rome in the spring of 1902, Modigliani entered the Free School of Nude Painting (Scuola libera di Nudo) in Florence, where he studied art with Giovanni Fattori. It was during that period that he began to visit Florentine museums and churches and study the art of the Renaissance that admired him.

A year later, in 1903, Modigliani again followed his friend Oscar, this time to Venice, where he remained until moving to Paris. In March he entered the Venice Institute of Fine Arts (Istituto di Belle Arti di Venezia), while continuing to study the works of the old masters. At the Venice Biennales of 1903 and 1905, Modigliani became acquainted with the works of French impressionists - sculptures by Rodin and examples of symbolism. It is believed that it was in Venice that he became addicted to hashish and began to take part in spiritualistic séances.

Paris

At the beginning of 1906, with a small amount of money that his mother was able to raise for him, Modigliani moved to Paris, which he had been dreaming of for several years, as he hoped to find understanding and incentive for creativity among Parisian artists. At the beginning of the 20th century, Paris was the center of world art, young unknown artists quickly became famous, more and more avant-garde directions of painting were opened. Modigliani spent his first months in Parisian museums and churches, getting acquainted with painting and sculpture in the halls of the Louvre, as well as with representatives contemporary art. At first, Modigliani lived in a comfortable hotel on the Right Bank, as he considered it appropriate to his social status, but soon he rented a small studio in Montmartre and began attending classes at the Colarossi Academy. At the same time, Modigliani met Maurice Utrillo, with whom they remained friends for life. At the same time, Modigliani became closer to the poet Max Jacob, whom he then painted repeatedly, and Pablo Picasso, who lived near him in Bateau Lavoir. Despite his poor health, Modigliani took an active part in the noisy life of Montmartre. One of his first Parisian friends was the German artist Ludwig Meidner, who called him “the last representative of bohemianism”:

“Our Modigliani, or Modi, as he is called, was a typical and at the same time very talented representative of bohemian Montmartre; rather, even he was the last true representative of bohemia".

While living in Paris, Modigliani experienced great financial difficulties: although his mother regularly sent him money, it was not enough to survive in Paris. The artist had to change apartments often. Sometimes he even left his works in apartments when he was forced to leave another shelter because he could not pay for the apartment.

In the spring of 1907, Modigliani settled in a mansion that was rented out to young artists by Dr. Paul Alexandre. The young doctor became Modigliani's first patron, and their friendship lasted seven years. Alexander bought drawings and paintings by Modigliani (his collection included 25 paintings and 450 graphic works), and also organized portrait orders for him. In 1907, several of Modigliani's works were exhibited at the Salon d'Automne; the following year, at the insistence of Paul Alexandre, he exhibited five of his works at the Salon des Indépendants, among them the portrait of the "Jewish Woman". Modigliani's works remained unnoticed by the public because they did not belong to the then fashionable movement of cubism, which arose in 1907 and whose founders were Picasso and Georges Braque. In the spring of 1909, Modigliani received his first order through Alexander and painted the portrait “Amazon”.

Sculpture

In April 1909, Modigliani moved to an atelier in Montparnasse. Through his patron he met the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi, who later had a huge influence on Amedeo. For some time, Modigliani preferred sculpture to painting. They even said that for his sculptures Modigliani stole stone blocks and wooden sleepers from the construction sites of the metro being built at that time. The artist himself was never puzzled by the denial of rumors and fabrications about himself. There are several versions of why Modigliani changed his field of activity. According to one of them, the artist had long dreamed of taking up sculpture, but did not have the technical capabilities, which became available to him only after moving to a new studio. According to another, Modigliani wanted to try his hand at sculpture because of the failure of his paintings at exhibitions.

Thanks to Zborowski, Modigliani's works were exhibited in London and received admiring responses. In May 1919, the artist returned to Paris, where he took part in the Autumn Salon. Having learned about Jeanne's second pregnancy, the couple decided to get engaged, but the wedding never took place due to Modigliani's illness with tuberculosis at the end of 1919.

Modigliani died on January 24, 1920 from tuberculous meningitis in a Paris clinic. A day later, on January 25, Jeanne Hebuterne, who was 9 months pregnant, committed suicide. Amedeo was buried in a modest grave without a monument in the Jewish section of the Père Lachaise cemetery; in 1930, 10 years after Jeanne's death, her remains were buried in a nearby grave. Their child was adopted by Modigliani's sister.

Creation

The direction in which Modigliani worked is traditionally referred to as expressionism. However, this issue is not so simple. It’s not for nothing that Amedeo is called an artist of the Parisian school - during his stay in Paris he was influenced by various masters fine arts: Toulouse-Lautrec, Cezanne, Picasso, Renoir. His work contains echoes of primitivism and abstraction. Modigliani's sculptural studios clearly show the influence of African plastic arts, fashionable at that time, on his work. Actually, expressionism in Modigliani’s work is manifested in the expressive sensuality of his paintings, in their great emotionality.