Amadeo Modigliani
Biography
Seldom in the annuls of art has there lived a more tragic figure than Amadeo Modigliani. Born in 1884 in Livorno, Italy, Modigliani could well be considered a poster boy for over-indulgence. A contemporary of Picasso, Cézanne, and Monet, around the turn of the century, the dashingly handsome teenager became a fixture (victim?) of the Paris nightlife that so fascinated and dominated the work Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. From an early age Modigliani drank deeply of the spirit and spirits of everything Parisian. Perhaps the model for Left-Bank counter-culture artist-playboy, Modigliani dabbled in a number of painterly fads and styles before finding the linear, elegant simplicity of delicate, yet expressive female figures that became his artistic trademark.
Modigliani's figures are mostly drawn first in black paint, featuring elongated necks, noses and faces, then filled in with strong, expressive, flat colours. Absent was any effort to depict much modelling or the illusion of volume. He usually started with the eyes of his figures and could develop a finished painting within a couple hours. Living from hand-to-mouth during much of his life, his Bohemian lifestyle of heavy painting and drinking in cold, damp, Parisian cellars, or wherever he could find cheap lodging, inevitably took its toll on his health. He married one of his models at age 34 with whom he fathered two children. Setting up a household in a tiny Montmarte apartment, he finally found some semblance of a normal family life.
But sadly, it was too late. Dying of consumption (tuberculosis) at the age of 35, he was joined a few days later by his wife who died bearing their second child. During his lifetime, his work seldom brought more than a few hundred Francs. Shortly after his death they sold for several thousand Francs. Ten thousand friends from the Paris artistic community attended their funeral. contributed by Lane, Jim
29 November 1997
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