The Introduction of the Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 16. The Cellist (1909)

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

The 16th work to introduce for this week is “The Cellist (1909)”.

This work is, a portrait of an expressionist style and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 130 x 80 cm, painted by Modigliani in 1909.

This work used differentiated colors to express the moment when the cellist is immersed in his playing of cello.

This work has a strong influence on ‘Paul Cézanne’, and it even creates the illusion that the work mimics the characters of ‘The Card Players’ by Cézanne.

Also in this work, the unusually elongated cellist's arms suggest the beginning of an elongated drawing style that later becomes one of Modigliani's characteristic painting styles.

For the cellist in this work, the viewers are indifferent beings, and he is so immersed in the performance that he has no interest in anything but the instrument.

The model in this work was a poor cellist who lived there when Modigliani had a studio in Falguière.

This work also has a study work, but even in the case of the study work, although some parts of it were not painted, it feels like a completed work.

In 1910, Modigliani exhibited both completed and study works in the ‘Salon des Indépendants’, which was his second and last.

The painting in the background of this work is a portrait of sculptor ‘Brancusi’, who was Modigliani's friend.

It looks like the model, the cellist, is talking to his cello and, as the cello whispers, his body is in tune according to the instrument.

In general, musicians tend to prioritize their instruments rather than themselves, and in this work, the player feels like he is wrapping his instrument in a devoted manner with the intention of protecting it in any case.

It also looks like that the player and the instrument is a whole body, not knowing whether the player leads the cello by playing or vice versa.

In this work, Modigliani blunted the presence of the bow of the cello by blurring it compared to the cello.

The reason seems that the cello is a musical instrument with a bow, but in order to convey the idea to the viewer that the musical performance in this picture is a communication between the cellist and the cello, not by bow but by dialogue between the two.

This work also highlights the choice of colors.

The model in this work was a poor musician at the time.

Therefore, in order to highlight his harsh and difficult life, it seems that Modigliani used blue color for his attire because ‘blue’ also means ‘gloomy’ as well as color.

Such choice of the attire’s color is a concept similar to ‘black’ color, which Modigliani used for the attire of the model who was rich and well-educated.

Also, in the background colors that Modigliani selected in order to avoid disturbing the performer who is immersed in the playing of the musical instrument, and allow the viewers to concentrate on the performer with being almost indifferent to the background, we can feel the thoughtfulness of Modigliani for the performer as well as his artistic genius for the colors.

It was Belle Époque era in Paris when Modigliani painted this work.

Modigliani, however, did not follow the trend of the time and went his own way as a convincing artist.

In 1909, an artist, who was an acquaintance of Modigliani, Kurt Störmer, visited his studio in Paris.

At that time, Störmer saw this work as a completed painting, and he was impressed by this fantastic work, which showed Modigliani’s artistic genius in color selection.

Thank you.