By Jin Hee Kim

ART COMPARATIVE STUDY:FANG PEOPLE OF GABON & AMEDEO

MODIGLIANI

• African mask

• By Fang people of Gabon

• Medium: wood

• Size: 66cm height

• 16th Century

First impression:Traditional / simplistic / primal

• Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne

• By Amedeo Modigliani

• Medium: Oil painting

• Size: 20 x 24 inch canvas

• 1919

First impression:Lovely / warm/ simplistic

• 16th Century

• Inhibited in northern Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, southern Cameroon, and the western part of the Republic of Congo.

• Very Spiritual and dynamic group

• Fang made masks, basketry, carvings, and sculptures.

• July 12th 1884 – January 24th 1920

• Born in Livorno, Northwester Italy

• Italian artist of Jewish heritage

• Practiced both painting and sculpture

• Spent most part in France

• Influenced by his artist friends & by range of genres & art movements & by primitive art

CULTURAL CONTEXT

Modigliani Fang people of Gabon (African)

• Subject matter:

Head carvings using mediums from nature (Masks worn in ceremonies and hunting)

• Subject matter:

Portraits of a women sometimes with cloths on and sometimes without it

CULTURAL CONTEXT CONT.

Amedeo Modigliani Fang people of Gabon

• The mood is distinctive, dry, meaningful, and sacred by using the simple distinctive lines and shapes

• The crafts person has carved person’s head into an narrow oval shape. He did not carve eyeball and the nose. The color is just natural wood color showing primitive side of the mask

FANG PEOPLE OF GABON'S ART WORK

• The mood is soothing, calm, warm, and lovely by portraying soft oval shaped face of a woman and warm tone color used

• He drew closed up face of his wife. He filled one half of the painting with her face and another half with her long neck. He used simple colors and lines.

AMEDEO MODIGLIANI’S ART WORK

• Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne

• By Amedeo Modigliani

• Medium: Oil painting

• Size: 20 x 24 inch canvas

• 1919

• For lovely wife “Jeanne Hebuterne”

• Portrays feminine woman with long face / neck (attractive)

• Greatly influenced by African masks

• African mask

• By Fang people of Gabon

• Medium: wood

• Size: 66cm height

• 16th Century

• Used in ceremony or while hunting

• Symbolic / sacred object (represents birth & death)

FUNCTION & PURPOSE

African Mask Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne

PROOF FOR INFLUENCE

Sculpture & painting by Modigliani African masks

It is evident that Modigliani got influenced by African art but he wasn’t influenced directly but through his artist friends Picasso / Cezanne / Brancusi. He developed his own style of painting based on this influences from African traditional sculptures / masks.

• 51cm high – which is not much difference in scale

• Often, Modigliani paints portraits of woman without eyes drawn just like African masks but this one is different.

• Woman in the portrait is glancing on the left side bringing up curiosity where she looking at (Modigliani?)

• Long and curved neck leads to the face of a woman (more attention on face)

• 66cm high – which is not much difference in scale

• Direction of eyes are not fixed / eyes are emotionless & blank

• Mouth is opened (fish-like)

• More volume to face because this is the mask not the painting. There is a shadow set on the mask (3D effect)

FORMAL ELEMENTS

African Mask Portrait of a woman

• Long face / nose / neck

• Eye brow shape (drawing arc)

• Narrow face

• Small mouth / lip

• Short and sharp chin

• No cheek bone visible

• Not much expression on the face

• Enlarged human face

• Represent someone (ancestral mask & portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne)

SIMILARITIES

• Eye visible

• Multi colored (warm tone / simple coloring)

• Long brownish hair visible (warm)

• Mouth closed (faint smile)

• Painted (oil on canvas)

• Influenced by African masks

• Black lines visible as an outline

• Eye not visible

• Single colored (natural medium)

• No hair visible

• Mouth opened (fish-like)

• Carved (wood)

• Traditional meaning / symbol / sacred

• Used in ceremony or while hunting

DIFFERENCES

African Mask Portrait of woman

WEBSITES• http://www.forafricanart.com/fang_ep_27-1.html

• http://www.everyculture.com/Cr-Ga/Gabon.html

• http://www.only-search.com/?q=fang+people+of++gabon&s=img&as=0&rlz=0&sd=61&babsrc=SP_tedge

• http://www.lotusmasks.com/category/fang-tribe-masks.html

• http://www.modigliani-foundation.org/

• http://www.modigliani-foundation.org/biography.html