Culture & Arts; Lecturer, Writer, Contents creator, Broadcaster
;President, Art Collage JANG/J Books & Media/Modigliani Institute Korea
;Author, “The Great and Immortal Painters’ Stories” series
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani.
The 83rd work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Madame Kisling” in 1917.
This work is an expressionist style
portrait and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 46.2 x 33.2 cm, and
housed in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D. C., USA.
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA
This portrait shows Renée Kisling,
the wife of Moïse Kisling, a fellow artist and friend of Amedeo Modigliani who
lived in the same building in Paris.
Moïse Kisling and Renee Kisling
Moïse Kisling was a Polish-born French
painter, who moved to Paris in 1910 at the age of 19, became a French citizen
in 1915, and married Renée Kisling in 1916.
Moïse Kisling
Moïse described her face as
"bright, intelligent, and always looking for something with
curiosity", and such features of her face are well represented in this
portrait, with her sculptural and angular face.
Portrait of Moise Kisling, Amedeo Modigliani
In this work, everything about her
appearance is striking, such as her short brown hair, faint green eyes without
pupils, bangs hanging down to her eyes, double eyelids, slender nose, crooked
and uniquely shaped mouth and cheekbones.
In addition, her head is tilted to
the left, which is one of the characteristics of Modigliani's painting style,
and her attire and neck are reminiscent of a male, giving the impression of
adding her face to the male body.
Her friends called her as an optimistic and
very modern woman. She loved parties so much that she hated the parties to end
and she loved unique outfits, such as wearing trousers without socks.
Perhaps
Modigliani expressed her appearance as a kind of male figure rather than a
typical female figure to emphasize her such progressive personality and
character.
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 75th work to introduce for this
week is “Louise” in 1917.
This work is an expressionist style
portrait and an oil painting on a canvas with the size of 55 x 43.8 cm, and
held in private collection.
The year of 1917, when Modigliani
painted this work, was the year he met his last lover, Jeanne Hébuterne, the
time in which he began his peak period of his own unique style in his short
life.
Jeanne Hebuterne in Red Shawl, Amedeo Modigliani
This work painted at this time reflects Modigliani's various unique
styles, and although the identity of the model is not exactly known, the name
of the model can be guessed from the title of the work, “Louise”. Modigliani's
distinctive styles in this work are almond-shaped eyes, elongated face and
neck, and Modigliani's genius talent for portraying the model's personality and
character in his paintings can also be seen.
Because of the short hair, the
model might be seen as a male at first glance but can be seen as a female
through a necklace on her neck. Models have very elongated face and
neck, and her short hair has the effect of making them look longer. In
addition, the model's eyebrows, which have almost the same curves as the
model's eyes, give a very unique feeling.
The model's eyes, which almost seem
to be empty and through which the background behind can be seen, adding blurry
pupils, look gloomy, and such feeling can also be seen in Modigliani's other
works of this period. Modigliani is characterized by not
drawing very detailed when drawing model’s ears exposed, but in this work, they
are expressed in relatively detailed by even drawing outlines on them.
In addition, this work, using a lot
of blue tones, gives overall gloomy feeling and these tones make the model more
gloomy, and it's also reminiscent of the works of Picasso's Blue Period.
The Old Guitarist, Blue Period, Pablo Picasso
The background of this work is
generally tilted left and the model is also positioned left from the center. In
such case, unlike other Modigliani’s paintings, which generally balance the
composition by biasing other elements to the right, these elements do not exist
in this work.
Modigliani's unique painting styles
such as elongated face, neck and body of the model, can be considered to have
originated from the influence of Italian art that he studied in his hometown of
Italy before moving to Paris. He had a lot of knowledge of Italian art and was
also influenced by many Italian Old Masters.
The examples of works that can see
his influence are “The Birth of Venus” by Sandro Botticelli and “The Madonna
with the Long Neck” by Parmigianino.
The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli
Madonna with the Long Neck, Parmigianino
With this influence, Modigliani, who moved
to Paris, gradually established his own unique painting styles, being
influenced by African art, including African sculptures, Cubism, and the
sculptor Constantin Brâncuși he met in
1909.
Portrait of Mademoiselle Pogany, Constantin Brâncuși
The first owner of this work was
Léopold Zborowski who became Modigliani's art dealer after his relationship
with Paul Guillaume ended.
Portrait of Leopold Zborowski, Amedeo Modigliani
Paul Guillaume, Amedeo Modigliani
Zborowski was introduced to Modigliani by Moïse
Kisling, and Modigliani painted several portraits of Zborowski and his wife
Anna.
Portrait of Moise Kisling, Amedeo Modigliani
Portrait of Anna Zborowska, Amedeo Modigliani
This work was sold at Sotheby’s
Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale auction on November 3, 2008, and is
now in private collection.
Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale, Sotheby’s
It was restored for this auction and a dark oxidated varnish layer was removed.
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 63rd work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Leopold Zborowski” in 1916. This work is an expressionist style
portrait and an oil painting on a canvas with the size of 46 x 27 cm, and is
kept in a private collection.
Léopold Zborowski was a Polish
poet, writer and art dealer who was born on March 10, 1889 and died on March
25, 1932. Zborowski, well known as
"Zbo", arrived to Paris in 1913 to study literature. After that,
however, he started to sell rare books, miniatures, paintings and prints in his
apartment for his living.
After being introduced to
Modigliani through his then-neighbor Moïse Kisling, Zborowski becomes
Modigliani's primary art dealer and friend during his final years. He succeeded
Paul Guillaume as Modigliani's art dealer in 1916, and then he organized
Modigliani’s exhibitions and allowed his home as his atelier. In addition, Zborowski provided
Modigliani with painting materials and models, and consistently paid him
regular fees on the condition of creating a specific number of paintings.
However, Zborowski, who had
accumulated some fortune as an art dealer of Modigliani, lost all of his
fortune during the Great Depression of the 1930s and eventually died poor in
Paris of a heart attack in 1932. After Zborowski’s death, his wife Anna (Hanka
Zborowska), was forced to sell his whole collection for a living.
In this work, Modigliani portrays
the model Zborowski as a young man who looks energetic and somewhat romantic as
well. The combed hair and the open collar
of his white clothes also show the passion and freedom without solemnity that
only a young man can have. In addition, the long neck, which
is particularly noticeable in this work, plays a role in enhancing such
appearance.
In contrast to his neat appearance,
his mustache and beard with the halo of bluish gray light that emanates from
behind him also give the impression of Jesus Christ.
There is some controversy about the
timing of the painting, but 1916, when is believed to have been painted, is the
year Zborowski started Modigliani’s art dealer. Modigliani seems to have
considered Zborowski, who is starting to collaborate with him, as his Savior
like Jesus Christ, and as a result, it seems that Modigliani painted Zborowski,
about whom he had a lot of anticipation and hope, as shown in this work.
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 48th work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Moise Kisling” in 1915.
This work is a portrait of an
expressionist style and an oil painting on canvas with the size of 37 x 28 cm,
and currently possessed by Palazzo Brera in Milan, Italy.
Moïse Kisling was a Polish-born French
painter who was born on January 22, 1891 and died on April 29, 1953. Born in Kraków, Poland, Kisling
studied at the School of Fine Arts in Kraków, where his teachers strongly encouraged
him to go to Paris, France, where was considered the center of the world in art
at the time.
Moïse Kisling (c.1916)
In 1910, Kisling left Poland and
moved to Montmartre in Paris, and then to Montparnasse a few years later. Like many others, he was introduced
by Andre Salmon and Max Jacob to the painters from around the world, especially
Picasso, Modigliani and Pascin. In 1913, Kisling took a studio in
Montparnasse, and became close friends with many contemporary artists,
including Modigliani, who painted his portraits.
When World War I broke out, Kisling
enlisted voluntarily in French Army and was seriously wounded in the battle in
1915 and consequently discharged. Then, he received French citizenship from the
French government. Kisling again volunteered for army
during World War II in 1940. However, when the French Army was defeated by the
Germans, Kisling, who was afraid of his own safety in the occupied France
because he was a Jew, moved to the United States. He had exhibitions in New
York City and Washington in the United States, settled in California, and lived
there until 1946.
La Sieste à Saint-Tropez (Kisling with Renée), Moïse Kisling (1916)
After the war, Kisling, who
returned to France, died on April 29, 1953, in Sanary-sur-Mer, Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte
d'Azur in France.
By the age of 19, Kisling was
already keeping his family with income from his painting. Kisling, one of
Modigliani's best friends, and his wife, Renée, often became models of
Modigliani and continued to help him, especially from 1916. He shared his
studio on rue Joseph-Bara with Modigliani, paid for his meals, and provided him
with painting materials. Modigliani painted the portrait of Jean Cocteau and
the double portrait of Lipchitz and his wife in the studio.
Portrait of Jean Cocteau, Amedeo Modigliani (1916)
Jacques and Berthe Lipchitz, Amedeo Modigliani (1916)
Shortly after Modigliani's death at
the Charity Hospital in Paris, Kisling made a death mask for Modigliani, and Lipchitzcast 12 of them in bronze for Modigliani's closest friends. Kisling summed up his philosophy as
"We work, we eat, we drink, we work, we make very good food, and we get
married. That's all.”
Death Mask of Amedeo Modigliani
In 1915, Modigliani produced a
series of small portraits reflecting the warm friendship with models who had
good relationships with him.
Looking at the portrait of Kisling
introduced today, his appearance looks like a schoolboy. Also, unlike Modigliani's
style, simply treating the background and other parts of the model except the
face to focus the viewers' attention on the model's face, this work seems to
emphasize the outside of the model's face due to the white collar and red tie. The model's calm and pensive expression,
and large almond-shaped eyes give the viewers an intense impression.
The features of this work are that,
unlike other works of Modigliani, this work has the model's square face which almost
entirely filled the canvas and he did not paint the model with the elongated
face that usually appears in his portraits. Modigliani also simplified almost
all of the lines in the work to create a caricatural feel, but the simplicity
of the lines gives a more emphasis on the model's gaze.
Modigliani seems to show off his
firm friendship with Kisling by drawing this work in a direct and
uncompromising way. Also, from Modigliani's painting
style, drawing eyes with no pupils or blurring eyes when the model's character,
personality, or sincerity are uncertain, he drew the model's eyes and pupils
accurately and clearly in this work. It seems to emphasize the belief and
confidence about Kisling and the faithful and firm friendship of the two.
