Artist Amedeo Modigliani - the founder of a realistic image of nudity, a talented sculptor, painter and freethinker was an iconic figure of his time. However, during his lifetime, the creator was famous not for his works, but for his dissolute way of life.
The beginning of the way
Amedeo Modigliani was born in Italy in a petty-bourgeois Jewish family. His parents had noble roots and gave his son a decent education. Amedeo from childhood grew up in an atmosphere saturated with Renaissance art. Thanks to his mother, a native of France, he was well versed in poetry and philosophy, history and painting, and also mastered the French language, which later would help him live and create in Paris.
Until his adulthood, Amedeo Modigliani was twice on the verge of death. At first he fell ill with pleurisy, and then with typhoid. Tormented by illness, in delirium he saw the works of Italian masters of painting. That is what determined his life path. And already in 1898 he began to take lessons at the private art school of Guglielmo Miqueli. But he was forced to interrupt his studies because of his newly conquered illness. This time, Amedeo caught tuberculosis. After a short forced break, the future artist resumes studies, but this time at the Free School of Nudity Painting, and after that at the Venetian Institute of Fine Arts.
Paris: a new stage in creativity
Mother always admired the talent of her youngest son and in every possible way contributed to his creative formation. So, in 1906, thanks to a mother who raised money for her son, Amedeo goes to Paris for inspiration and glory. Here he plunges into the creative atmosphere of Montmartre and gets acquainted with many creators of that time - Picasso, Utrillo, Jacob, Meidner.
In the capital of world art, Amedeo Modigliani is constantly experiencing financial difficulties. His plight was somewhat better in 1907, when he met Paul Alexander, whose friendship he would carry through his whole life. Alexander patronizes the artist - buys his work, organizes orders for portraits, as well as the first exhibition of Modigliani. However, fame and recognition still do not come.
Amedeo Modigliani for some time completely devotes himself to sculpture. It works with stone blocks and marble. A great influence on the work of Modigliani at that period was exerted by Brynkushi, Epstein, Lipschitz. In 1912, some of his works were even bought. But poor health and exacerbated tuberculosis force him to return to painting.
The artist continues to create during the First World War, which he was not taken for health reasons. In 1917, the Modigliani exhibition was opened, where he presented his works in the nude genre. However, local authorities recognized his work indecent and literally a few hours after the opening closed the exposition.
Very little is known about the future period of the artist’s life. Amedeo Modigliani died in early 1920 from tuberculous meningitis who triumphed over his life.
Love stories
The artist was distinguished by ardor of nature and amorousness. He admired female beauty, idolized and sang it. It is known that in 1910 he had a novel by Anna Akhmatova, which lasted a year and a half. In 1914, there was another serious romance in his life. Bright and eccentric Beatrice Hastings was not only a lover and muse of Amedeo, but also a promoter. Thanks to her scandalous articles about Modigliani, he gained some fame. True, not as a brilliant artist, but as a bohemian lover of alcohol and drugs.
After an affair with Beatrice, a young muse - nineteen-year-old Jeanne Hébuterne bursts into the life of the artist. He sang her beauty in 25 portraits. Jeanne gave birth to a child, and when the artist found out about the second pregnancy of the muse, he hastened to make her an offer. But the couple did not have time to get married in the church due to the death of the artist. Unable to withstand the separation, the day after the death of his beloved, Jeanne decides to commit suicide.
Characteristic of creativity
Amedeo Modigliani, whose photos are not transmitted and the hundredth share of the artist’s skill, was adept at creating portraits. He recreated lyrical images through the smoothness of lines and strokes. His works combine seemingly incompatible things - expression and harmony, linearity and generalization, plasticity and dynamism. His portraits were not like reflection in a mirror or photograph. Rather, they conveyed the inner sensation of Modigliani and differed in elongated shapes and generalized color zones. He does not play with space. In the paintings it seems to be compressed, conditional.
Interesting Facts
Modigliani is a descendant of the great philosopher Spinoza.
“Modigliani. Jew ”- with these words the artist introduced himself to strangers. He was always embarrassed by his nationality, but he chose the path of affirmation rather than denial.
Amedeo had an heir, but he refused his son before he was born.
The first surge in demand for paintings by the artist and the sincere interest of the public in his work arose after the death of Modigliani, or rather, during his funeral.
In Paris, the artist had a reputation as an indefatigable rowdy and revelers, and he was not allowed in all establishments.
Amedeo had a phenomenal memory. He could spend hours quoting verses from poets of the Renaissance and contemporary creators.
In fact, contemporaries knew little about the life of Amedeo Modigliani. The biography was recreated after his death on the mother's diaries, letters and stories of friends.