How are you?
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani.
The 95th work to introduce for this
week is “Landscape, Southern France” in 1919.
This work is an expressionist style
landscape and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 61 x 46 cm and possessed
by Private Collection.
One of the distinctive features of
this painting is that it presents Modigliani’s two signatures at the bottom of
the painting.
Modigliani, who painted a lot of portraits, did not seem to be very attracted to landscapes, and as a result, the number of landscapes he painted is very small.
Modigliani went to Normandy, northwest France, in 1911, where he worked for a while, and it was exceptional for Modigliani, who hated leaving Paris. Modigliani worked hard in Yvetot and Fecamp in Normandy, small towns where the life was monotonous at the time, but it seems that they were not the places for ideal landscapes to Modigliani.
In contrast, however, in the south of France, Modigliani portrays his childhood memories in the form of a serene landscape.
In 1919, Modigliani left Jeanne and his baby in Nice and went to Cagnes-sur-Mer where he shared a studio with Chaïm Soutine and painted this landscape.
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| Portrait of Chaim Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani (1917) |
The painting clearly shows the
homage to Cézanne, based on the chosen subject and the way it was expressed.
It is also noteworthy that he
painted this painting in the vertical form of the portraits that Modigliani had
mainly painted, rather than taking the horizontal form normally used in the
landscapes.
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| Sketch drawing |
The density and expression of colors in the painting are reminiscent of Modigliani's hometown of Livorno, Tuscany. Modigliani loved his hometown of Italy very much and missed his hometown until his death, and his final words were "Cara Italia" on his deathbed.
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| Modigliani house-Casa Natale Amedeo Modigliani, Livorno, Italy |
Cagnes-sur-Mer and Nice in southern France, where he stayed,
located at the same latitude as Modigliani's hometown, Livorno, Italy, share
the light and water of the Mediterranean Sea, and these southern regions of
France seem to have been ideal places that Modigliani felt the nostalgia of his
hometown.
Besides this painting, Modigliani
also painted the following landscapes.
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| Cypress Trees and House, Amedeo Modigliani (1919) |
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| Landscape, Amedeo Modigliani (1919) |
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| Tree and house, Amedeo Modigliani (1919) |
Thank you.
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