How are you?
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 49th work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Picasso” in 1915.
This work is a portrait of an expressionist
style and an oil painting on cardboard with the size of 34.2 x 26.5 cm, and
currently in private collection.
Modigliani, who studied Renaissance
art in his hometown of Livorno, Italy, moved to Paris in 1906. After moving to Paris, Modigliani lived
in Le Bateau-Lavoir, an artistic community in Montmartre, where Picasso also
had a studio. Picasso not only served as a model for Modigliani, but also owned
several of his paintings, including "Seated Young Woman (1918)."
Seated Young Woman, Amedeo Modigliani (1918)
Modigliani and Picasso were never closest
friends. However, when the World War I broke out and all of their friends in
Paris were enlisted or drafted, the two who didn’t go to the army and remained
in Paris were forced to meet frequently. At that time, the daily life of
artists in Paris, especially that of foreign artists, was very difficult. The
main reason was that foreign artists in Paris at the time were no longer able
to receive living expenses from their hometowns because of the war.
Picasso was
already a well-known painter at the time, but he was in personally difficult
situation because he could no longer expect the support of his dealer, Kahnweiler
since he was from Germany and could not return to France, and besides his lover
Eva Gouel, with whom he had been in a passionate affair over the past four
years, was dying of tuberculosis.
Modigliani always had faith in his paintings,
but his works were not recognized by people of avant-garde art field, including
Cubism, and Modigliani himself also felt that the art they pursued was
significantly different from his art style, thus Modigliani kept his distance
from Picasso's circles.
Portrait of Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani (1915)
Modigliani was an artists who was famous
for dressing well, and there is an interesting story about the attire of Picasso. When Modigliani met Picasso at work
in his trademark workman's attire, he told Picasso that possessing artistic
genius could not be an excuse or toleration for working without proper attire.
Then Picasso said that Modigliani was the only artist he knew who really knew
how to dress.
The work I introduce today is a
portrait of Picasso, who was his fellow artist, painted by Modigliani in 1915.
The two were artists, who were artistic rivals and had mutual respect.
Modigliani had mixed feelings about
Picasso. He envied the success of his rival Picasso, but was also fascinated by
his charismatic personality and artistic talent. This competing feelings of
Modigliani is well emerged in this portrait. In other words, the unevenly
painted two-toned face of the model suggests an inner conflict within
Modigliani and also between Modigliani and the model Picasso.
However, the facial features, including
the model's round head, resemble Buddha's statue, which reflects Modigliani's respect
for Picasso’s wisdom and talent as an artist. This respect can also be seen in
the French word "savoir" which means "to know" written on
the lower right side of the painting.
Thank you.
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