How are you?
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani.
The 91st work to introduce for this
week is “Pierre Edouard Baranowski” in 1918.
This work is an expressionist style
portrait and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 111 x 56 cm and possessed
in private collection.
The painter Pierre Edouard Baranowski, known as “Bara”, was a member of the Polish colony of Paris.
A habitue of the Montparnasse cafes in the 1920s, he seems to have met Modigliani either through his friend and dealer Leopold Zborowski, or through his friend Moise Kisling.
 |
| Portrait of Leopold Zborowski (1917) |
 |
| Portrait of Moise Kisling (1916) |
This painting is the only known portrait of Baranowski, who painted flowers, still lifes and landscapes and exhibited at the Salon d'Automne, the Salon des Tuileries and the Salon des Independants between 1920 and 1929.
In this painting, he occupies the entire space of the painting with his androgynous grace. His pose also has Mannerist style, with the bent face, the barely noticeable smile, and a left hand that seems to hang loosely.
The black color of the jacket and tie, the light blue color of the eyes and the background, the dark blue color of the trousers and the paleness of the model's skin are emphasized by the white color of his shirt, and the slanted model's head seems to avoid the symmetry of the painting.
Modigliani said, "To do any
work, I must have a living person, I must see him in front of me."
Baranowski was one of the artists
and intellectuals who flocked to Paris from Central Europe, whose talents were
not recognized and dreams could not be realized, but he seems to have been the
kind of model Modigliani liked.
Thank you.
