Amedeo ModiglianiHaunting elongated, mask-like portraits.

Family & Early Life● Born into a Jewish family in Livorno,

Italy● His family was persecuted for their

religion, grandmother came to Italy for religious freedom

● Mother, Eugenie, was fluent in many languages, founded a talmudic study school

● Father, Flaminio was a businessman and engineer

“He behaves like a spoiled child, but he does not lack intelligence. We shall have to wait and see what is inside his chrysalis. Perhaps an artist?”

-Eugenie Garsin

Modigliani’s birthplace, Livorno, Italy

Art School● At 14, Modigliani had typhoid

fever and raved that he wanted to see the paintings in Palazzo Pitti and Uffizi in Florence.

● When he was well, his mother took him to Florence, and enrolled him with the best painting master in Livorno, Guglielmo Micheli.

● He worked in Micheli’s Art school from 1898 to 1900.

● He was heavily influenced by artwork of the Renaissance.

● 1902 - studied in Florence at the Academia di Belle Arti

The Tuscan Road, 1899

The Bearded Man, 1905

Literary Influences● He read constantly, and was

most interested in philosophical works of Nietzche, Baudelaire, Carducci, and Comte de Lautreamont.

● He developed the belief that the only route to true creativity was through defiance and disorder.

● He was most interested with figure drawing at this time.

● He embraced the bohemian lifestyle and radical philosophies.

Paris

● In 1906, Modigliani moved to Paris, the center of the Avante-Garde movement.

● At the same time, Gino Severini and Juan Gris had also moved to Paris.

● He settled in Le Bateau-Lavoire, a commune for poor artists in Montmartre, and rented a studio in Rue Caulaincourt.

● Modigliani decorated his studio with heavy drapes and Renaissance reproduction paintings and was seen to wear brown corduroys, a scarlet scarf, and a large black hat.

Head of Woman with a Hat, 1907

Working in Paris● Modigliani worked at a fast pace,

making as many as 100 drawings a day.

● He was influenced by Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Paul Cezanne.

● His parisian friends called him Modi (which translates to “cursed”)

● He had many relationships with women, but ultimately fell in love with Jeanne Hebuterne, an art student.

● Her parents did not approve of Modigliani because he was Jewish.

Paul Cezanne, Peasant, 1891

Toulouse-Lautrec, Jane Avril, 1892

Developing Style

The Jewish Woman, 1908 Jean Alexandre, 1909

Developing Style

Portrait of Paul Alexander on Green Background, 1909

The Beggar of Livorne, 1909

Signature Style

Portrait of a Young Girl 1910 Portrait of Paul Alexander, 1912

Signature Style

Madame Pompadour, 1914 Andre Rouveyre, 1915

Signature Style

Bride and Groom, 1915 Portrait of Henri Laurens, 1915

Portraits of Artist Friends

Portrait of Diego Rivera, 1914 Portrait of Frank Burty Haviland, 1914

Portraits of Artist Friends

Portrait of Picasso, 1915 Portrait of Juan Gris, 1915

Portraits of Artist Friends

Portrait of Jean Cocteau, 1917 Portrait of Chaim Soutine, 1917

Jeanne Hebuterne

Jeanne Hebuterne in Red Shawl, 1917 Jeanne Hebuterne with Hat and Necklace, 1917

Jeanne Hebuterne

Jeanne Hebuterne, 1918 Jeanne Hebuterne, 1918

Jeanne Hebuterne

Jeanne Hebuterne in a large hat, 1918 The Artist’s Wife, 1918

Jeanne Hebuterne

Jeanne Hebuterne, 1919 Jeanne Hebuterne, 1919

Late Portraits

Girl in a Sailor’s Blouse, 1918 Leopold Zboroski, 1918

Late Portraits

Lunia Czeckowska with her left hand on her cheek, 1918

Pierre Edouard Baranowski, 1918

Late Portraits

Jeanne Hebuterne with her left arm behind her head, 1919

Young Man with Cap, 1919

Modigliani’s Death

● Modigliani died on January 24, 1920 of tubercular meningitis (then incurable)

● He died penniless, having had only one solo exhibition in his life.

● He gave his artwork away in exchange for meals in restaurants.

● Since his death, nine novels, a play, a documentary, and three feature films have been devoted to his life.

Modigliani’s Style

● Elongated neck and face● Curving, rounded poses● Flattened faces, with

eyebrows that slope to meet the edges of the nose.

● Eyes that are filled with color, no iris or pupil definition

● Sometimes heavily outlined, sometimes delicately shaded

● Simple backgrounds, marks from paintbrush are visible

Portrait of Man with Hat, 1915

Portrait of a Woman in a Black Tie, 1917

Head of a Girl, 1918

Making Elongated Self-Portraits

Examples from: Deep Space Sparkle

Today’s Studio Session● Thumbnail sketches are small, simple drawings that fill up a page with ideas. They are

not complete or very detailed! This is like a visual brainstorm.

● Sketch at least 5 different possibilities for your self-portrait in your sketchbook. Add hats and other accessories, practice using different facial expressions, and consider adding an arm or hand gesture.

● Next week, we will use your favorite sketch as the basis for a large oil-pastel drawing.