Modigliani: 'Jeanne Hébuterne, 1919'.
Amedeo Modigliani. 'Jeanne Hébuterne', 1919. Included in the exhibition: 'Modigliani'; Tate Modern (UK), November 2017 - April 2018. Illustration 1: 'Jeanne Hébuterne', 1919. Modigliani [1884-1920] did few society portraits, preferring to paint close friends and acquaintances. The alteration and exaggeration of form - a distinctive characteristic of his art - makes some of the images veer towards a type of Expressionism. Sometimes the human subjects are depersonalised, like still-life objects. He seemed to hit upon a method of extreme elongation of the body in an intense period of sculptural activity, from 1909-1914. These stone carvings display an acknowledgement of primitive traditions, especially African. Individuals are presented as remote idols. A frontal and vertical attenuation of facial features appears to flatten the head: Illustration 2. In profile, however, there is a deep and unexpected recession, as each bust extends horizontall