How are you?
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani.
The 93rd work to introduce for this
week is “Seated woman in Blue Dress” in 1919.
This work is an expressionist style
portrait and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 92 x 60 cm and possessed
by the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden.
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| Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden |
This young woman, the model in this
painting, stands out with her cut hair in a dark color highlighted by
Modigliani to match her dark blue clothes. This portrait also looks very
similar to the sculptures of the time in terms of the stylized clothes and the
features and outlines of the face. The model's pale skin and expressionless
empty eyes also contribute to her sculptural resemblance.
The model sitting on a black chair
occupies almost the entire frame of the painting.
Modigliani often revealed the
identity of the model by including the model's name in the background of his
paintings, but in this painting the background does not give any information
that could identify the model of the painting.
However, research has shown that
the model for this painting was known as Fernande Barrey, a French artist model
and painter, born on 9 January 1893 and died on 14 July 1960.
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| Fernande Barrey |
She left her hometown of Picardy in
1908 and moved to Paris. Then, she became the model for many artists, including
Jean Agélou, Amedeo Modigliani and Chaim Soutine.
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| Portrait of Chaim Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani (1916) |
In March 1917, she met the Japanese artist Tsuguharu Foujita at the Café de la Rotonde in Montparnasse, who fell madly in love with her and married her 13 days later. In 1918, the couple moved to Cagnes-sur-Mer to escape the German bombs, where she spent a year painting and meeting many friends.
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| Tsuguharu Foujita in his studio |
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| Café de la Rotonde, Montparnasse, Paris |
During this time, she also became friends with Jeanne
Hébuterne, the wife of Modigliani. In 1920, when Modigliani died, Barrey tried
to console Jeanne, but these efforts were in vain, and Jeanne, who was
pregnant, committed suicide.
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| Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne, Amedeo Modigliani (1918) |
In addition to this painting, other
paintings of Fernande Barrey painted by Modigliani are listed below.
Thank you.
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