How are you?
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani.
The 84th work to introduce for this
week is “Woman with White Coat” in 1917.
This work is an expressionist style
portrait and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 55 x 38 cm, and housed
in the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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| Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Argentina |
This work, which Paul Guillaume possessed and hung in his apartment, is an example of Modigliani's return to the portrait in 1917 after his series of nudes.
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| Paul Guillaume, Amedeo Modigliani (1915) |
It can be seen as part of a group of Modigliani’s paintings, among which the most famous work is "Woman with Black Tie".
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| Woman with Black Tie, Amedeo Modigliani (1917) |
The model for this work is presumed to be Marietta Duc, a friend of Dr. and Mme. Louis Devraigne, whose portraits Modigliani also painted at the same period.
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| Doctor Louis Devraigne, Amedeo Modigliani (1917) |
In this work, the curve effect of the model's arched eyebrows, almond-shaped eyes, hair wrapping around her head, the collar raised almost to the chin and the curvature of the shoulders is alleviated by the model's sharp nose, thin lips and pointed chin. In addition, the model's bangs, sad or sleepy-looking eyes and a chin dimple also create somewhat humorous atmosphere, and the pale color of her coat lightens the overall brown tone of this work.
This work has various titles including “white” in common, but looking at the work, the model's coat color does not look white. The possible reason for this is that the original coat color was white, but it has changed color over time.
The first owner of this work was police
superintendent Leon Zamaron. He was well-known to the poor artists in Paris,
whom he enthusiastically supported and helped, showing particular generosity to
the foreign artists among them. However, Zamaron, who owned many works of art
as a collector, unfortunately lost all of his collections by gambling.
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| Léon Zamaron |
Observation of this work with infrared shows a very poor composition, which can be presumed to be an unfinished work or a work completed in a very short time. The infrared also shows swirls of the brush next to the model’s shoulders, which are usual in Modigliani's overall work, although not necessarily in this location.
In
addition, it seems that part of the lines have disappeared compared to the
original, due to excessive cleaning during the restoration.
Thank you.
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