Amedeo Modigliani

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Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920)
The romantic cursed one — painter of long necks, tragic love, and a poetic view of the body.

Style: Portraits and nudes with characteristic elongated faces and necks — inspired by African and Egyptian art. Combined classical and modern elements.
Technique: Painted quickly and passionately. Did not retouch or revisit his works. His drawings and nudes are among the most sensual in art history.
Life: Lived in the Parisian bohemia, addicted to alcohol and opium. Died of tuberculosis at age 35. Two days later, his partner committed suicide.
For today: Modigliani is an icon of love and self-destruction in art. His figures remain hypnotic — intimate yet monumental art.

Biography

Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor known for his distinctive modern style characterized by elongation in the depiction of faces and figures. He studied in Italy before moving to Paris in 1906, where he interacted with prominent avant-garde artists. Though his work was largely unappreciated during his lifetime, he gained considerable posthumous renown.

Family and Early Life

Born into a Sephardic Jewish family in Livorno, Italy, Modigliani experienced financial difficulties early as his family was bankrupted in 1883. He faced multiple health issues including pleurisy, typhoid fever, and tuberculosis, which impacted his life profoundly. His mother supported and nurtured his early artistic talent.

Education and Early Influences

Modigliani studied under Guglielmo Micheli in Livorno and was exposed to the Macchiaioli movement. He later enrolled at Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence and Venice. He absorbed influences from Nietzsche, Symbolist poets, and artists like Toulouse-Lautrec and Cézanne. His early lifestyle in Venice involved hedonistic habits and exposure to hashish.

Career and Artistic Development

After relocating to Paris in 1906, Modigliani focused initially on sculpture, exhibiting with Cubists before switching to painting by 1914 due to war constraints and health. His work is marked by stylized portraits and nudes using elongation and mask-like faces influenced by African sculpture and Renaissance humanism.

Personal Life and Legacy

He developed a bohemian lifestyle involving alcohol and drug use, partly to mask his tuberculosis. He had tumultuous relationships with women including Beatrice Hastings and Jeanne Hébuterne, the latter of whom he lived with and who was prominently featured in his artwork. Modigliani died of tubercular meningitis at age 35. Hébuterne died shortly after, pregnant with their second child.

Nationality

Italian

Themes

Portraits and nudes featuring surreal elongation of faces, necks, and figures

Modigliani's works achieved great financial success posthumously, setting records at auctions and exhibitions.

1917
Solo Exhibition at Galerie Berthe Weill, Paris

Modigliani's only solo exhibition during his lifetime, closed initially due to police intervention over obscenity concerns but continued thereafter.
2010
Record Nude Painting Sale

A nude painting sold for $68.9 million at auction in New York, setting a new record for Modigliani's works.
2015
Nu couché Sold for $170.4 Million

One of Modigliani's most famed paintings sold for $170.4 million at Christie's in New York, ranking high among the most expensive paintings ever sold.
2018
Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) Sold for $157.2 Million

This painting sold at Sotheby's in New York for the highest auction price in the auction house's history.