The Introduction of the Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 10. The Jewish Woman

How are you?

Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.

The 10th work to introduce this week is “The Jewish Woman (1908)”.

It was the first work which Modigliani sold after moving to Paris in 1906, and the person who purchased this work was his friend and patron, Paul Alexandre.

Alexandre then commissioned Modigliani for three additional paintings and requested Modigliani to draw this work as the background of them.

One of the features of this work is the boldness and originality of the colors used.

Although the woman in this work has a calm and inexpressive face, the strong contrast of the woman's distinct white face and dark clothes gives composition and inner tension, suggesting the strong emotion underlying her face.

Also, by expressing the background of the model in various colors, the model became more central point to this work.

The gloomy feeling of this work can be compared with the works of Picasso's Blue Period.

This work is also one of the few works that Modigliani, who has Jewish descent, officially recognized his Jewish identity and painted Jews as subject.

In view of the use of the word "Jewish" which Modigliani used in the title of this work, it seems that Modigliani was somewhat hesitant to publicly recognize his Jewish identity before drawing this work.

However, when drawing this painting, it seems that Modigliani had confidence in his identity as a Jew and he included the word “Jewish” in the title of this work to confirm his conviction.

It also suggests that racial discrimination, as well as gender, was existed in European society at the time.

Another feature of this work is the mixed brushstrokes used by Modigliani.

In other words, precise brushstrokes were used to detail the jaw of the model, while the wide and bold brushstrokes were used for the background and the clothes, so we can understand that Modigliani focused on the model in this work.

Modigliani's mixed brushstroke technique used in this work makes this work more original and outstanding.

Thank you.