Amedeo Modigliani

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani
(July 12, 1884 - January 24, 1920)
Italian painter and sculptor

He was born in Livorno, Tuscany, Italy, the fourth child of the Jewish family of Flaminio Modigliani and his French-born wife, Eugénie Garsin and was raised in poverty after his father's money-changing business went bankrupt.
Amedeo was also beset by health problems after an attack of typhoid at the age of 14 followed by tuberculosis two years later. his family suffered with a history of depression as did he, and at least some of his siblings seemed to have also inherited his stubborn, independent streak. In 1898 his 26-year-old brother, Emmanuel, was sentenced to six months imprisonment as an anarchist.

In 1902, Amedeo Modigliani enrolled in the Scuola libera di Nudo (Free School of Nude Studies) in Florence and a year later moved to Venice where Amedeo Clemente Modigliani registered to study at the Istituto per le Belle Arti di Venezia. It is in Venice that Amedeo first tried hashish and, rather than studying, began to spend time frequenting the sleazy parts of the city.

In 1906, Modigliani moved to Paris, the then focal point of the avant-garde, where Amedeo Clemente Modigliani would become the epitome of the tragic artist, creating a posthumous legend almost as famous as that of Vincent Van Gogh.

Settling in Le Bateau-Lavoir, a commune for penniless artists in Montmartre, Amedeo Modigliani was soon busy painting, at first influenced by the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec until Paul Cezanne changed his views. Eventually though, Amedeo Modigliani developed his own unique style, an oddity of a creative genius who was a contemporary of the Cubists, but not a part of their movement. Amedeo Modigliani is noted for his fast work, usually finishing a portrait in one or two sittings.
And, once done, Amedeo Clemente Modigliani never reworked any painting. Yet, those who posed for him said that being painted by Modigliani was like having your soul laid bare. old oil painting artist - oil painting Italian Amedeo, old oil painting Amedeo Modigliani by artist oil paintings, Amedeo oil paintings artists, Bio oil paintings Amedeo Modigliani.

In 1909, Modigliani returned home to Livorno, sickly and worn out from his debauched lifestyle. Amedeo did not stay in Italy long and soon he was back in Paris, this time renting a studio in Montparnasse. Amedeo Clemente Modigliani had originally seen himself as a sculptor more than a painter, and he began sculpting seriously after Paul Guillaume, an ambitious young art dealer, took an interest in his work and introduced him to Constantin Brancusi.

Seeing Modigliani's sculptures, there is evidence of him being influenced by art from Africa and Cambodia which Amedeo Modigliani probably saw in the Musée de l'Homme. his interest in African masks shows in the treatment of the sitters' faces.
They appear ancient, almost Egyptian, created flat and masklike, with distinctive almond eyes, pursed mouths, twisted noses, and elongated necks. Although a series of Modigliani's sculptures were exhibited in the autumn Salon of 1912, for whatever reason he abruptly abandoned sculpting and focused solely on his painting.

At the outset of World War I, Amedeo tried to enlist in the army but was refused because of his poor health. Perhaps knowing that for health reasons his life would be short, Amedeo Clemente Modigliani carried a death wish, drinking continuously and consuming large quantities of drugs.

Known as "Modì" to his friends, Amedeo Modigliani was an extremely handsome man to whom females were greatly attracted. Women came and went until Beatrice Hastings entered his life. She stayed for almost two years, was the subject for several of his portraits, including "Madame Pompadour" shown here, and the object of much of his drunken wrath. Drunk, h was a bitter, angry person, always looking for a fight as was depicted in the famous drawing by Marie Vassilieff. Sober, Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was graciously timid and charming, would quote Dante Alighieri and recite poems from Lautreamont's book, Les Chants de Maldoror, a copy of which he always carried with him. When the English painter Nina Hamnett arrived in Montparnasse in 1914, on her first evening there the smiling man at the next table in the café introduced himself as "Modigliani, painter and Jew". They became great friends.- old oil painting artist - oil painting Italian Amedeo, old oil painting Amedeo Modigliani by artist oil paintings, Amedeo oil paintings artists, Bio oil paintings Amedeo Modigliani.

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