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Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 65th work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Pinchus Kremegne” in 1916.
This work is an expressionist style portrait and an oil painting on a canvas with the size of 82 x 65.5 cm, and is held in the Kunstmuseum Bern in Bern, Switzerland.
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| Kunstmuseum Bern |
Pinchus Kremegne was a Lithuanian Jewish-French artist, born on July 28, 1890 and died on April 5, 1981, known as a sculptor, painter and lithographer.
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| Pinchus Kremegne |
Kremegne was a friend of Chaim Soutine and Michel Kikoine and studied sculpture at the Vilnius Academy of Art. Since he was a Jew, he became a target of the pogroms, which persecuted the Jews, and fled to Paris in 1912. Then he encouraged Soutine to come to Paris, and Soutine came to Paris six months later than Kremegne.
Coming to Paris, Kremegne joined the group of painters of Montparnasse and soon became one of the respected artists of La Ruche, where he met Chagall, Fernand Léger and Modigliani.
However, after Soutine comes to Paris, the two become companions in misery who suffer from poverty. Kremegne recalled the period after a long time, saying, "To make something beautiful, you have to suffer enough to starve to death!"
Kremegne, a sculptor, exhibited three pieces of his sculptures in 1914 in Salon des Independants, but in 1915, he gave up sculpture and devoted himself to painting. Then, Kremegne, who painted a series of Red Nudes in 1916, and later still lifes and landscapes, began selling his works to Zborowski and to Paul Guillaume.
Around 1960, Kremegne left Paris and built a house and settled in Ceret, a small town in the Pyrenees, where he died. Kremegne is also an artist today who was underestimated because he is overshadowed by the fame of Soutine and Chagall.
The portrait of Kremegne introduced today can be considered as a companion piece to that of Soutine, which Modigliani painted at the same period. Modigliani depicted them in which both Kremegne and Soutine put their hands on their knees and have same pose such as brothers sharing many other factors, such as poverty, origin, and art, in addition to their hometown.
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| Chaim Soutine (1916) |
Comparing the two paintings, first of all, the difference of clarity of the face can be shown. Soutine has clearer eyes, nose, and mouth than Kremegne, and one of the big differences is the presence of pupils. In general, Modigliani often depicted the pupils of model when he thinks he understands the model's mind and personality very well.
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| Pinchus Kremegne vs. Chaim Soutine |
The two were friends of Modigliani, but he seems to suggest that his friendship with Soutine, who was his very close friend, is much greater and more faithful than that with Kremegne by drawing his appearance clearer as well as his pupils. And regardless of the presence of the pupils, Soutine's appearance seems to be tired of living and worry about his future, and Kremegne's appearance looks sad.
Another difference is the colors of their jackets. Soutine's light jacket and Kremegne’s dark jacket show a sharp contrast of colors. Therefore, the only bright colors in Kremegne's portrait are from his hands and face.
Another difference between the two paintings can be found in the position of the right hand’s fingers. Soutine's fingers look as if a priest is giving the benediction, but Kremegne's fingers are laid out in a normal position. This may have been a discriminatory allusion by Modigliani for the lineage of Soutine’s priestly family that Soutine and Kremegne had not in common although Modigliani viewed the two as brothers who shared many elements.
Thank you.
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