Modigliani
Amedeo Modigliani was born into an intellectual Jewish family in Italy, which experienced swings of fortune.
He was sickly all his life, and as a child his mother homeschooled him until he was 10. He studied with a classical master, Giuglielmo Michaeli, who was part of the Macchiaioli, similar to the French Impressionists. Modigliani didn’t like painting en plein aire (possibly because of his tuberculosis?), preferring cafes and his studio.
As a teenager, he liked painting nudes from life, seducing young ladies, and quoting Nietzsche. Some of the brief biographies I’ve read say that he led a typical bohemian lifestyle, but wikipedia points out that he did it on purpose. He “developed the belief that the only route to true creativity was through defiance and disorder,” because of reading Baudelaire, Lautrréamont, and Carducci. Corrupt or sadistic beauty!
When he was 22, he moved to Paris and within a year had shed his dapper elegance and become a bohemian. He wrecked his studio, became addicted to alcohol and drugs, and destroyed his early work. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in France at the time, and was highly communicable. He hid his symptoms through drug and alcohol overindulgence, and did his best to spread his disease to scores of young ladies. By age 35, he was dead, having had only one solo show.
The Royal Academy showed “Modigliani and his Models” in 2006. I read a negative review, which said he was a one-trick pony, and listened to a positive review, which said he rescued the nude from the disintegration that the art scene was subjecting the rest of art to. I like the grounded serenity that his paintings convey. Maybe he made them when he was addled by hashish and absinthe, but to me they look meditative.
He was sickly all his life, and as a child his mother homeschooled him until he was 10. He studied with a classical master, Giuglielmo Michaeli, who was part of the Macchiaioli, similar to the French Impressionists. Modigliani didn’t like painting en plein aire (possibly because of his tuberculosis?), preferring cafes and his studio.
As a teenager, he liked painting nudes from life, seducing young ladies, and quoting Nietzsche. Some of the brief biographies I’ve read say that he led a typical bohemian lifestyle, but wikipedia points out that he did it on purpose. He “developed the belief that the only route to true creativity was through defiance and disorder,” because of reading Baudelaire, Lautrréamont, and Carducci. Corrupt or sadistic beauty!
When he was 22, he moved to Paris and within a year had shed his dapper elegance and become a bohemian. He wrecked his studio, became addicted to alcohol and drugs, and destroyed his early work. Tuberculosis was the leading cause of death in France at the time, and was highly communicable. He hid his symptoms through drug and alcohol overindulgence, and did his best to spread his disease to scores of young ladies. By age 35, he was dead, having had only one solo show.
The Royal Academy showed “Modigliani and his Models” in 2006. I read a negative review, which said he was a one-trick pony, and listened to a positive review, which said he rescued the nude from the disintegration that the art scene was subjecting the rest of art to. I like the grounded serenity that his paintings convey. Maybe he made them when he was addled by hashish and absinthe, but to me they look meditative.
Gypsy Woman with Child
This portrait shows a self-contained young lady with a well-bundled up baby. Like many of Modigliani's figures, her neck is elongated and her facial features, while distinctive, are simplified. Peaceful blues, greys, and greens surround the woman, whose face and hands vibrate with orange. The overall impression is of competent serenity.
I like this painting because of the vibrancy of the woman's flesh against the silent blue background. It is an island of peace in the tumultuous world that Modigliani lived in. How was he able to set aside the shouting inside his head to find this kind of peace?
I like this painting because of the vibrancy of the woman's flesh against the silent blue background. It is an island of peace in the tumultuous world that Modigliani lived in. How was he able to set aside the shouting inside his head to find this kind of peace?
Modigliani Lesson
After a relaxation exercise and some warm-ups from Mona Brooks' "Drawing with Children," students can choose from several 15-minute stations at which they can copy drawing techniques or use the day's lesson as a creativity starter.