How are you?
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
Amedeo Modigliani
The 44th work to introduce for this
week is “Beatrice Hastings in front of a door”.
This work is a portrait of an
expressionist style and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 81.3 x 46.4
cm, and currently in private collection.
Beatrice Hastings, an English
writer and poet, met Modigliani in 1914 by the introduction of the sculptor Ossip
Zadkine. Modigliani then lived with her in her house for two years until 1916.
She became famous for her peculiar behavior, attire, and avid supporter for the
theories of Helena Blavatsky.
Beatrice Hastings
Ossip Zadkine
Helena Blavatsky was a Russian occultist,
philosopher, and author, who was born on August 12, 1831 and died on May 8,
1891. She co-founded the Theosophical Society in the United States in 1875. The goal of the Theosophical
Society was to become a nucleus of the universal brotherhood of humanity, without
distinction of race, gender, class, and skin color.
Helena Blavatsky
Hastings' influence on Modigliani is
divided. Some say she made Modigliani more and more addicted to drug and
alcoholism, but it is certain that while she was with Modigliani, she was his
muse, who gave him a lot of artistic inspiration.
Modigliani painted some paintings
of Hastings. However, the appearances of the paintings are not the same, and
her appearances are changing according to the paintings. For this work, she
looks like a graceful lady wearing a feathered hat. Looking at the image of the
work, she looks like a strong and cool-hearted woman, and her tight mouth shows
her stubborn personality. It is also interesting to note that the shapes of her
nose and neck are similar and that one of her ears is significantly emphasized
compared to the other. The background consists of a plane dominated by straight
lines using an object of a door. The background of these straight lines makes
her curved face and elongated neck more prominent.
Although Hastings was very bohemian,
in this picture, she is a graceful and an elegant lady wearing feathered hat,
such as “Madame Pompadour,” one of the paintings that Modigliani painted her. Such
appearance of her seems to reflect the situation that most women preferred to
wear hats in public places at the time.
Madame Pompadour
Thank you.
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