Modigiliani

In the early 20th century, Italian born painter and sculptor Amedeo Clemente Modigliani, created unusual and distinctive art. He was both a painter and sculptor and though extremely productive, a life of disease and despair left him impoverished and dead at an early age. The beauty and inspiration of his work lives on in a few fascinating artworks.
Unusual Art: Modigiliani Sculpture A Fusing Of Styles
Author: Vance Lassiter
Recently, my wife and I had to choose a house warming gift for friends but we were utterly out of ideas. Once they'd given us a quaich, a Scottish symbol of everlasting friendship, so I felt we should get something more special than a greeting card.Our friends are an extraordinary couple you just can't classify easily. They are surely clever, witty and true individuals and considering they were moving in to a new house, I finally decided a decorative object would be appropriate, but what to choose? My own taste runs to things from the ancient world, such as Roman art and Greek sculpture . I spent days in search of something remarkable, a present that had a story behind it, but Aphrodite didn't seem to be appropriate, an Alexander bust was something I knew our friends already had and Hippocrates might have been well suited for a physician, but not for an IT professional married to a lawyer. What I wanted was something the same but also, like my friends, completely different.Ultimately, I decided on a Modigliani sculpture, an elongated female head bust statue that was really different from the classical sculpture I'd considered, but somehow precisely the same. Classic yet primitive at the same time, Modigliani art is clearly influenced by African Masks and Polynesian sculpture, smooth and curved whilst prolonged and angular, it is the contradiction which makes the sculpture so unique.Modigliani's story is a heartbreaking one. Born in 1884, his ability for painting was obvious from his childhood, but his life was destroyed by tuberculosis. His mother made sure he had the best teaching, and he was very well respected by his art teacher, even though he designed his own personal style that has more in keeping with the angular Art Deco movement yet to come then the curvaceous Art Nouveau, a style still fashionable. Like countless now renowned artists Modigliani was remarkably unknown in his own lifetime. He generated an enormous quantity of work, oftentimes as much as one hundred paintings per day, however on most occasions he gave these to close friends or girlfriends that did not keep them. It seems as if he understood his life would be short, and possibly as a result of that, he latched onto drugs and alcohol, to the point where many said his one of a kind style was credited entirely to hashish, however it was obviously not true. He was a follower of Nietzsche and Baudelaire and came to the conclusion genuine creativity involved dysfunction and defiance. At some point in his career he demolished many of his earlier works as he found them far inferior.As time passed, his well being grew even worse. He was refused for army service in the First World War and continued to reside in Paris, not knowing if the next payment of his allowance would arrive. He was good looking and affable and women liked him, but even though he was able to sell a few art works in the course of his lifetime, he never made any money from them.Modigliani passed away quite penniless, from meningitis, his bedding discolored with oil from a sardine can, the only thing he had left to eat. As always, there was a woman involved. Much more youthful than Modigliani and on the day he perished almost 9 months pregnant with their second child. After his death her family members took her home and the girl went backwards out of a window, killing herself and the unborn baby.The tales about Modigliani's lifetime are filled with contradiction. Some have attempted to imply that the girl, Jeanne Hebuterne was merely one more passing fad for the artist, however their daughter's analysis confirmed she was a painter in her own right. The woman's figurines had been shown for the very first time in an exhibition in 2000.As for the Modigliani art we chose, the statue itself is elongated and abstract depiction of a woman's head that is both soft yet striking. We don't find out who she is meant to be; there isn't any story to tell unless it's one we concoct on our own.
As for the statue, no distinct type of furnishing or style is required. The Modigliani bust would be welcome in just about any room in any home. It's sure to catch the eye and start a conversation with its unusual angles and unidentifiable origin. From the prominent place our friends chose to display it, I'm confident we made the right choice.



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