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 horizontally:

Illustration 3.

This vertiginous quality gets carried over into the paintings - in which space becomes a subjective property - and is, perhaps, more Mannerist than Primitivist. Modigliani sculpted out of imagination but painted from observation. His portraits meld the iconic with the specific. In Illustration 1, empty eyes, having no iris or pupil, are replaced by a naturalistic representation. Mass and space are compressed through observing and feeling, producing distortion. 

Jeanne Hebuterne, artist, muse and Modigliani's pregnant lover, committed suicide. Tragically, she threw herself from a window immediately after his premature death.

Illustration 4: Jeanne Hébuterne.


Comments

  1. Anonymous2 July 2019 at 14:36


    Modigliani sought to "take off" the human beings (the nude, especially the feminine, permeates his work) and to show the soul, which is more primitive, real and intimate, a vision whose lengthening of forms, following aspects of Expressionism , perfectly translates the African icons or Thai feminine traditions), perfect observations, incredible to establish the connection between an artist who did not follow the primer of the time integrally and the free genius, whose works were like children born, without price, and the stare , without the iris, stiffens and looks at us, because the eyes of the characters of Modi also undresses us. Fabulous blog, fabulous issues observed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous2 July 2019 at 14:36


      Modigliani sought to "take off" the human beings (the nude, especially the feminine, permeates his work) and to show the soul, which is more primitive, real and intimate, a vision whose lengthening of forms, following aspects of Expressionism , perfectly translates the African icons or Thai feminine traditions), perfect observations, incredible to establish the connection between an artist who did not follow the primer of the time integrally and the free genius, whose works were like children born, without price, and the stare , without the iris, stiffens and looks at us, because the eyes of the characters of Modi also undresses us. Fabulous blog, fabulous issues observed.

      Delete
    2. Tony Cairns3 August 2021 at 13:23

      Thanks very much for your comments, which are very interesting to me.

      Delete

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