The Works by Amedeo Modigliani: 92. Roger Dutilleul (1919)

 

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Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani.

The 92nd work to introduce for this week is “Roger Dutilleul” in 1919.

This work is an expressionist style portrait and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 100 x 65 cm and possessed in private collection.

Roger Dutilleul, born in Paris on December 19, 1872, and died in Paris on January 22, 1956, was an art collector and a patron of artists.

Roger Dutilleul

He began his collection in 1905 with major art dealers, such as Ambroise Vollard or Léonce Rosenberg. In 1907, he met Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, an art collector who had just opened his own gallery at the time, and became one of his first clients.

Ambroise Vollard

Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler

Dutilleul once remarked, "There is no such thing as abstract or figurative, there is just good painting." It was a fine motto for him, who collected about fifteen Modigliani works and dozens of works by various artists such as Braque, Derain, Vlaminck, Picasso, Matisse, Leger, and Miro. He was a great bourgeois, a refined man and, like Paul Guillaume, a true lover of avant-garde art. 

Georges Braque

Discovering some of Modigliani's works in Paul Guillaume's gallery, he received an offer for his other works from Constant Lepoutre, an art dealer who introduced him to Zborowski, and then purchased all the works of Modigliani that Zborowski possessed. Then, Zborowski suggested Dutilleul for the model of Modigliani. 

Portrait of Paul Guillaume, Amedeo
Modigliani (1915)

Portrait of Constant Lepoutre, Amedeo
Modigliani (1916)

Portrait of Leopold Zborowski, Amedeo
Modigliani (1919)

Modigliani's portrait of Dutilleul shows an aristocratic elegance comparable to that of his first patron, Paul Alexandre, painted in 1909. The portrait of Dutilleul, painted ten years after Modigliani painted Alexandre's portrait, is characterized by the muted color, the very thin painting and the slightly tilted head compared to Alexandre's portrait. 

Portrait of Paul Alexandre, Amedeo
Modigliani (1909)

Also, as a token of his gratitude to his other patron, Dutilleul, Modigliani portrays him in his work as a benevolent and dignified figure. This portrait was painted in three sessions totaling seven and a half hours.

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Interesting Art Stories: 36. Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, Pablo Picasso, ACJ Art Academy

 

 

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On every Thursday, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 36th story for this week is “Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” by Pablo Picasso.

Pablo Picasso

“Les Demoiselles d'Avignon” is a large oil painting created in 1907 by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso. One of the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, this painting depicts five nude female prostitutes in a brothel on Carrer d'Avinyó in Barcelona.

Museum of Modern Art (MOMA)

The conventional feminine figure of Western art is not in this painting, and the women who appear to be slightly threatening are rendered with angular and disjointed body shapes. The woman on the far left has an Egyptian-style appearance, the two adjacent women are represented in the Iberian style of Spain, Picasso's hometown, and the two women on the far right have an African mask-like features. Picasso's application of ethnic primitivism and abandonment of perspective in this painting shows a radical departure from traditional European painting style. This proto-cubist work is regarded as an important piece in the early development of both cubism and modern art.

Picasso repainted the heads of the two women on the far right of the painting, leading to speculation that it was an indication of the separation between Picasso and his longtime lover, Fernande Olivier. In 1907, Picasso and Olivier parted and later reunited, but the relationship between the two eventually ended in 1912.

Head of a woman (Fernande Olivier),
Pablo Picasso (1909)

This painting had a great influence on modern art, but the influence did not appear immediately, so it was left in Picasso's studio for many years. Initially, only artists, dealers, collectors and friends who were close to Picasso were aware of the existence of this painting.

When it was first exhibited in 1916, it was deemed immoral. Painted in Picasso's studio in the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre, Paris, this painting was first seen publicly at the exhibition “Salon d'Antin” organized by the poet André Salmon in July 1916. 

Le Bateau-Lavoir (c.1910)

In this exhibition, Salmon changed the title of the painting to its current title, "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon," instead of the original title by Picasso, "Le Bordel d'Avignon". Picasso, who always referred to this painting as “mon bordel” or “Le Bordel d'Avignon”, never liked Salmon's title and rather preferred the bowdlerization “Las chicas de Avignon.”

Portrait of Andre Salmon,
Josette Bournet (c.1947)

This painting was not widely recognized as a revolutionary achievement until the early 1920s, when André Breton published this work.

André Breton

The painting was so revolutionary at the time and led to widespread controversy, shock, anger and disagreement, even amongst Picasso's closest associates and friends.

Henri Matisse fought mad when he saw this painting in Picasso's studio. However, in his 1908 “Bathers with a Turtle,” he indirectly reacted to it.

Bathers with a Turtle, Henri Matisse (1907-1908)

Georges Braque and André Derain both supported Picasso, but initially disliked this painting. However, Georges Braque later studied this painting in great detail than anyone else, and his continued friendship and collaboration with Picasso led to the cubist revolution. 

Georges Braque

Charing Cross Bridge, London, André Derain (1906)

Picasso's two friends, the art critic André Salmon and the painter Ardengo Soffici, were enthusiastic about it, while the poet Guillaume Apollinaire wasn’t. 

Deconstruction of the Planes of a Lamp,
Ardengo Soffici (1912-13)

In addition, the art dealer and collector Wilhelm Uhde and the art dealer Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler were more enthusiastic about the painting, which Kahnweiler described as the beginning of Cubism.

Portrait of Wilhelm Uhde,
Pablo Picasso (1910)

Portrait of Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler,
Pablo Picasso (1910)

Its resemblance to Paul Cézanne's “The Bathers”, Paul Gauguin's statue “Oviri” and El Greco's “Opening of the Fifth Seal” has been widely discussed by later critics.

Oviri, Paul Gauguin (1894)

Opening of the Fifth Seal,
El Greco (1608–1614)

The Bathers, Paul Cézanne (1898-1905)

In July 2007, Newsweek magazine published a two-page article about this painting, describing it as the "most influential work of art of the last 100 years."

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