How are you?
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 46th work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Henri Laurens” in 1915. This work is a portrait of an
expressionist style and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 55 x 46.5 cm,
and currently in private collection.
Henri Laurens is a French sculptor
and illustrator who was born on February 18, 1885, and died on May 5, 1954.
Henri Laurens
Multi-talented,
Laurens entered the School of Industrial Design in 1899, studied drawing and
architecture, and began to carve ornamental stone sculpture on new buildings.
The sculptures he created at the time reflected the influence of Auguste Rodin.
Auguste Rodin
Laurens, who moved to Montmartre in
1911, met his neighbor, Georges Braque, who introduced him to Cubism, and the
two shared a lifetime friendship. He participated for the first time
in the Salon des Indépendants in Paris in 1913 and was exempted from
conscription for World War I in 1914 because of the previously amputated leg by
osteo-tuberculosis.
Georges Braque
In 1915, Laurens began to sculpt in the Cubist style, met Amedeo
Modigliani, and in the same year he became a friend of Pierre Reverdy, and illustrated
his book, “Poèmes en prose”. In 1917, Laurens held a solo
exhibition in Paris at the “Galerie l'Effort Moderne”, run by French art
historian Léonce Rosenberg, and in the 1920s he executed various architectural
projects and stage decoration designs.
Head of a Young Girl, Henri Laurens (1920)
In 1938, he participated in
exhibitions held in European cities, including Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen,
along with Braque and Picasso, and at the São Paulo Bienal in 1953, he received
the Prize of the IV Centenary of São Paulo.
On May 5, 1954, Laurens died in
Paris, after collapsing while out on an evening walk and was buried in the
Cimetière du Montparnasse there.
Henri Laurens' grave
Looking at the work I am
introducing today, it seems that the glowing object next to the model's head was
intentionally drawn by Modigliani to suggest that the model, Henri Laurens, is
a sculptor.
In this work, Modigliani shows reminisce
for his period as a sculptor and the influence from Cubism. However, although
he was influenced by Cubism, it is quite different from the paintings of Cubist
artists such as Picasso, Braque and Gris, who decomposed their models into
geometrical pieces and drew them so that they could hardly recognize the shape
of the model.
Besides, even though Modigliani was
influenced by Cubism, this work also shows his stubborn character and style, trying
to express the personality of his model in his work.
It seems that the red color overlaid
on the model's face reflects the multi-talented and passionate personality of Henri
Laurens.
Thank you.
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