Italian Jewish painter and sculptor
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani
was born,
July 12, 1884,
into a Sephardic Jewish family in Livorno, Italy.
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A painter very dear to me, Modigliani is known for his portraits and nudes with elongated faces and bodies and the ‘blank’ eyes. His own words about the eyes give a perspective of those ‘blank eyes’:
“With one eye you are looking at the outside world, while with the other you are looking within yourself.”
His favorite subject was by far the human form. Modigliani spent his youth in Italy, where he studied the art of antiquity and the Renaissance. In 1906 he moved to Paris, where he came into contact with artists such as Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuși. By 1912 Modigliani was exhibiting highly stylized sculptures with Cubists of the Section d’Or group at the Salon d’Automne. From 1909 to 1914 he devoted himself mainly to sculpture.
Sadly, Modigliani had little success while alive, but after his death achieved great popularity. He died of tubercular meningitis, at the age of 35, in Paris. The legend of his troubled life and early demise – and the subsequent suicide of his young fiancée, Jeanne Hébuterne – has tended to overshadow his significant artistic achievement.
The Tate, has a brilliant article about Modigliani titled “Five Things to Know – Meet the Italian artist whose iconic portraits captured the face of early twentieth century Paris”. it’s worth a read: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/lists/five-things-know-amedeo-modigliani
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So here’s a glimpse of his work & words
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“I would like my life to be like a rich river flowing joyfully on Earth”
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“When I know your soul, I will paint your eyes”
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“The whole world is beautiful, the art is in the seeing.”
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“It is your duty in life to save your dream.”
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“Rome is not outside me, but inside me.. Her feverish sweetness, her tragic countryside, her own beauty and harmony, all these are mine, for my thought and my work.”
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“With one eye you are looking at the outside world, while with the other you are looking within yourself.”
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“What I am seeking is not the real and not the unreal but rather the unconscious, the mystery of the instinctive in the human race.”
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“Happiness is an angel with a serious face”
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“The function of art is to struggle against obligation.”
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“You are not alive unless you know you are living.”
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“Every great work of art should be considered like any work of nature. First of all from the point of view of its aesthetic reality and then not just from its development and the mastery of its creation but from the standpoint of what has moved and agitated its creator.”
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“I want to be a tuneswept fiddle string that feels the master melody, and snaps.”
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Portraits of Jeanne Hébuterne
Modigliani’s fiancée, a painter herself, took her own life two days after Modigliani died, throwing herself out of the fifth-floor apartment window. Today, they rest together at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Her epitaph reads: “Devoted companion to the extreme sacrifice.” She was his favorite model…
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Landscapes
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Drawings
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Sculptures
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Photos
Jeanne Hébuterne
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Accompanied by a work for solo piano written in 1884 [the year Modigliani was born] by
César Franck
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Prelude, Chorale and Fugue, FWV 21
performed by
Sviatoslav Richter
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For more information on Modigliani:
https://www.modigliani-foundation.org/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amedeo_Modigliani
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/lists/five-things-know-amedeo-modigliani
https://www.wikiart.org/en/amedeo-modigliani
https://www.guggenheim.org/artwork/artist/amedeo-modigliani
https://www.musee-orangerie.fr/en/artist/amedeo-modigliani
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/488903
https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.1722.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Amedeo_Modigliani
Marina Kanavaki 
Jeanne’s portrait of Modigliana is fabulous!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I agree!!!!
❤😘❤😘❤😘❤😘❤😘❤😘❤
Modigliani’s work is very compelling. He seems to have looked into the souls of his subjects and captured them on canvas. In some instances, I don’t think he liked what he saw.
“It is your duty in life to save your dream.” Yes!!
My thoughts exactly [on capturing their souls]!
…and Yes, indeed!!!! 😉
xoxoxo
🙂
“Love me two times” – Jim Morrison!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Ah… Jim…
…and love you twice for re-visiting!!!!
❤❤ 🧡🧡 🤗🤗 🧡🧡 ❤❤
xoxoxoxoxoxox X 2
🤗😘❤😘🤗 x ♾😉😘
Reblogged this on Momentary Lapse Of Sanity.
Thank you for the reblog!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo!!!!!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
I adore this artist! We have a print of one of his works, framed in our bedroom. It belonged to Norm’s mom. The print is about 50 years old. It is not one of the pieces I see here today, but I see it every morning when I wake up. I see it, and I see your calendar. You are in very good company in my home.
The portrait of Modiglianni, by Jeanne Hébuterneis phenomenal. She was immensely talented.
When I was around 35, the doctors thought I had ovarian cancer. I had an operation, and mercifully it was something else. However, N & I decided to commit suicide together, if it was true, and I was dying.
Undying love is a strong, poignant emotion.
The music is perfect! Will post as soon as it is finished playing!
Oh, my goodness!!!!! Poignant emotion, indeed! Phew…. you’re here now, happy and healthy and I’m soooooooo grateful to know you!
As for the good company, your happy face will suffice!!!!! 😉
Sending you much much love and so many hugs …and then more hugs!
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& hugs & love *chuck in some kisses & hugs & Hera & all dogs &all cats & Jeep & Johnny & I too, am glad that you are here; healthy and happy!
xoxoxoxo
Aw, likewise and many many more hugs coming your way and to J&J from H too! ❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤
❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤💖❤
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I didn’t know he sculpted! Another wonderful gathering of images and word. These are becoming amazing reference materials. 🤗❤️
Ah, thank you, Mary Jo! I’m really enjoying these. Diving into the works of such talents is exhilarating and at the same time encouraging as humanity is taking such a downfall…
Happy Wednesday with many hugs your way! xoxoxo
Amazing talent, Marina! Wishing you a terrific Tuesday, dear friend. xoxoxo
He was indeed! Thank you, my dear Lauren… and a wonderful Wednesday to you!!!! xoxoxoxoxo
He was a handsome devil! His work always reminds me of someone I dated… not for very long! 🙂
A ha ha haaaaa……… hmmmm…..
oh-oh………
Well, at least it wasn’t for very LONG! 😉
🤣😊😲
😉
I’ve never seen so many works by Modigliani all at once. Some I knew but most I didn’t. I don’t recall if I’d seen a photograph (as opposed to a painting) of Jeanne Hébuterne. Also new to me was the piece by Franck (whose name means ‘free’), which I much enjoyed.
The statement “You are not alive unless you know you are living” is open to discussion. We would say an amoeba is alive, but does it know that it is? Elephants seem to mourn their dead, yet does that imply that they know they themselves are alive?
I’m glad I introduced works you hadn’t seen before. I didn’t know Franck means ‘free’ … new to me! 😉
On his statement… he’s not with us to explain what he meant but yep, it’s a long conversation. I do believe though that all sentient beings know they are living. Us humans sometimes fail to do that while living in the past or planning how to live in the future. 😉
The composer’s name is the same as the English adjective frank. The first two definitions in the 1913 Webster’s Dictionary were:
Unbounded by restrictions, limitations, etc.; free.
Free in uttering one’s real sentiments; not reserved; using no disguise; candid; ingenuous; as, a frank nature, conversation, manner, etc.
I wonder why I didn’t know that definition. I was aware of the ‘honest – candid’ one.
Words evolve. The old ‘free’ sense has now largely shifted to ‘free to speak, speaking freely, candid.’ You can see the original meaning in the Germanic tribe known as the Franks, literally ‘the free people,’ and in the name of an area where they once lived, France.
Languages are living entities! 😉
Thanks for this wonderful tribute post Marina. I hope you are well. Warmest good wishes…Andrew
Interesting style.
Lots of long faces there.
🕉️♾️☮️🙏✨
Yes, but aren’t they amazing?!!!!!! 😉
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Fabulous addition to the series. Does your mind ever play tricks? Mine does every single time I see the name Modigliani – for some unexplained reason I see that name and my mind transposes it into Moreau (i.e. Gustavo Moreau) – So I excitedly opened the post expecting something else 😂😂😂. I wasn’t disappointed – I just had to do a mental reset. LOL! Still, this post is a wonderful highlight on Modigliani – Keep up the great work. I look forward to the next artist installment 👏👏👏😊🌹❤️
Moreau…. an artist I missed his birthday [it was about that time I began taking these artist journeys and wasn’t quite ‘organized’]. Yes, I know what you mean. I get that too sometimes!🤣
Thank you so much! I’m so happy you’re enjoying these!🙏
Next one is a painter with no talent at all, he simply couldn’t draw a line…. Rembrandt! 😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 [Wednesday 15]
Have a lovely week, my friend! 🙂
I am enjoying your “artists” post immensely, Marina. Thank you!
Thank you so much, my dear Rebecca. It’s a pleasure taking those journeys with you! Happy Monday, my dearest friend! xoxoxo