Seungyong Chang: Brazil

This painting is a self-portrait painted by Modigliani in 1919, actually the last year of his life. It is also the only oil self-portrait by Modigliani known, except for "Pierrot."

Pierrot (1915)

He was a friend of artists who often painted people around them, such as Soutine and Kisling, but portraits of Modigliani by his friends are almost none.

There are many photos of Modigliani showing his sophisticated poses, but the reason why there are very few portraits of him by painters may be that, unlike photographs, in the case of portraits that the painter's interpretation is largely reflected, even if the painter who drew him is his friend, he perhaps felt a sort of fear of how to interpret him.

Also, Modigliani, who devoted his life to portraiture, was extremely reluctant to paint himself. In this painting, the thick scarf around Modigliani's neck suggests the artist's poverty and miserable life, even without firewood to withstand the harsh cold of winter. His pathetic gaze towards the viewer with an emaciated face resembles the death mask by his devoted friend Lipchitz made after his death.

Death Mask of Modigliani

Today, I am going to end the introduction of Modigliani's paintings that I have been with you for over two years

From next week, I am going to start a new program “Modigliani in Worldwide Museums”, introducing worldwide art museums that have Modigliani's paintings and Modigliani's paintings owned by the museums.

I would like to express my sincere thanks to all of you who have been reading my postings with a lot of interest.

Thank you.

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Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Introduction of the Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 25. Portrait of Diego Rivera (1914)

How are you?

Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.

The 25th work to introduce for this week is “Portrait of Diego Rivera (1914)”.

This work is a portrait of an expressionist style and an oil painting on cardboard with the size of 100 cm x 79 cm.

It is currently owned by the Sao Paulo Museum of Modern Art in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

This work is unfinished because there is no signature of Modigliani.

The model, Diego Rivera, was a Mexican painter who was born on December 8, 1886 and died on November 24, 1957.

He is also the husband of Frida Kahlo, a Mexican surrealist painter.

In 1921, Rivera began a mural series that depicted the lives and history of Mexicans.

His massive frescoes played a major role in establishing the Mexican mural movement in Mexican art history.

Rivera began art studies at the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City from the age of ten.

After arriving in Europe in 1907, Rivera first studied art with “Eduardo Chicharro” in Madrid, Spain.

Then he moved to Paris, France, to live and work with many artists in Montparnasse, especially at La Ruche, where his friend Modigliani painted his portraits.

Rivera's friends, including Ilya Ehrenburg, Chaim Soutine, Amedeo Modigliani, Jeanne Hébuterne, Max Jacob, Leopold Zborowski, and Moise Kisling, are well illustrated in the painting, "Homage to Friends from Montparnasse" drawn by Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska.

At the time, Paris was a time of witnessing the beginning of cubism in paintings of artists such as Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Juan Gris, and Rivera enthusiastically accepted this new art movement.

Later, around 1917, Rivera, inspired by Paul Cezanne's paintings, shifted his style toward Post-Impressionism.

When Rivera stayed in Paris, he frequently visited Modigliani.

Modigliani and Rivera discussed art, drank, and sometimes argued violently about art.

For today’s work, it is a kind of sketchy oil painting that uses gray color as one of the main colors, giving the impression of frescoes that are difficult to find in other paintings of Modigliani, and some elements of the pointillism also appear.

The expression of such frescoes in this work can be assumed as Modigliani's intended suggestion, foreseeing that Rivera will become a famous painter for fresco in the future.

The round face like sun and good-looking eyes also suggest that Rivera is a friendly and supportive friend to Modigliani.

In this work, Modigliani used many curves, which make the appearance of Rivera softer, emphasizing that he is a good person and simultaneously conveying to viewers that Rivera is a person with a big fat body.

It also shows swirling spirals that are hard to find in other works of Modigliani.

The reason for the use of these spirals in this work seems that although Modigliani portrayed Rivera as a good figure, he also tried to express Rivera’s great artistic potential, including his beastly passion, outstanding imagination and strong charisma like swirling, inherent in Rivera, in this work.

Thank you.

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The Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 100. Self-Portrait (1919)

Sunday, December 22, 2019

The Introduction of the Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 25. Portrait of Diego Rivera (1914)

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