Modi My Love
Inspired by Modigliani
Arriving like a comet, he danced on tables, drunk with passion for
life and art and his ending was the tragedy of a true genius like
van Gogh and Mozart… He was Modigliani!
Painting with The Masters
14 x 18 Modigliani Oil Painting on Canvas
Amedeo Clemente ModiglianiJuly 1884 – Paris, 24 January 1920) was an Italian Jewish Painter and Sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by elongation of faces and figures, that were not received well during his lifetime, but later found acceptance. Modigliani spent his youth in Italy, where he studied the art of antiquity and the Renaissance until he moved to Paris in 1906. There he came into contact with prominent artists such as Pablo Picasso.
One of many paintings of Jeanne by Modi
Jeanne Hébuterne
She was born in Meaux, Seine-et-Marne to a Roman Catholic family.A beautiful girl, she was introduced to the artistic community in Montparnasse by her brother Andre Hebuterne who wanted to become a painter. She met several of the then-starving artists and modelled for them. However, wanting to pursue a career in the arts, and with a talent for drawing, she chose to study at the Academie Colarossi. It was there in the spring of 1917 that Jeanne Hébuterne was introduced to Amedeo Modigliani by the sculptor Chana Orloff (1888–1968) who came with many other artists to take advantage of the Academy's live models. Jeanne began an affair with the charismatic artist, and the two fell deeply in love. She soon moved in with him, despite strong objection from her parents.
Described as gentle, shy, quiet, and delicate, Jeanne Hébuterne became a principal subject for Modigliani's art. In the fall of 1918, the couple moved to the warmer climate of Nice on the French Rivera where Modigliani's agent hoped he might raise his profile by selling some of his works to the wealthy art connoisseurs who wintered there. While they were in Nice, their daughter was born on 29 November. The following spring, they returned to Paris and Jeanne became pregnant again. By this time, Modigliani was suffering from Tuberculous meningitis and his health, made worse by complications brought on by substance abuse, was deteriorating badly.
On 24 January 1920 Amedeo Modigliani died. Jeanne Hébuterne's family brought her to their home but Jeanne threw herself out of the fifth-floor apartment window two days after Modigliani's death, killing herself and her unborn child. Her family, who blamed her demise on Modigliani, interred her in the Cimetiere de Bagneaux. Nearly ten years later, the Hébuterne family finally relented and allowed her remains to be transferred to Perl Lachaise Cemetery to rest beside Modigliani. Her epitaph reads: "Devoted companion to the extreme sacrifice."
Their orphaned daughter, Jeanne Modigliani (1918–84), was adopted by her father's sister in Florence Italy She grew up knowing virtually nothing of her parents and as an adult began researching their lives. In 1958, she wrote a biography of her father that was published in the English language in the United States as Modigliani: Man and Myth. If you haven’t seen the movie Modigliani do yourself a favor and watch it. A truly wonderful love story.
A scene from the movie, Andy Garcia as Modigliani painting Jeanne
Comments
Post a Comment
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave comments. Your support is greatly appreciated. All comments are moderated so may not show immediately.