Amedeo Modigliani, 1917, Collection of Liu Yiqian
John French Sloan
1927
Edouard Manet, 1863, Realism, Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
František Kupka, 1909-10, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York Gift, Mrs. Andrew P. Fuller, 1968
Amedeo Modigliani, 1917, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection, By gift
"When Amedeo Modigliani moved from Italy to Paris in 1906, the leading artists of the avant-garde were exploring the forms and construction of “primitive” objects. Inspired by Paul Gauguin’s directly carved sculptures, which were exhibited in a retrospective that year, Constantin Brancusi, André Derain, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso began to make archaizing stone and wood sculptures. Brancusi, with whom Modigliani developed a close friendship, exerted a strong influence on the Italian; this is particularly obvious in his attempts at carving between the years 1909 and 1915, when he made idol-like heads and caryatids with monumental and simplified forms.
Modigliani’s sculptural concerns were translated into paint in Jeanne Hébuterne with Yellow Sweater, in which he portrayed his young companion as a kind of fertility goddess. With her highly stylized narrow face and blank eyes she has the serene countenance of a deity, and the artist’s emphasis on massive hips and thighs mimics the focus of ancient sculptures that fetishize reproduction. Both this work and Nude, with their simplified, elongated oval faces, gracefully attenuated noses, and button mouths, suggest the artist’s interest in African masks.
Modigliani painted the human figure almost exclusively and created at least 26 reclining female nudes. Although the impact of Modernist practice on his art was great, he was also profoundly concerned with tradition; the poses of Nude and similar works echo precursors by Titian, Goya, and Velázquez. Nevertheless, Modigliani’s figures differ significantly in the level of raw sensuality they transmit. His nudes have often been considered lascivious, even pornographic, in part because they are depicted with body hair, but perhaps also due to the artist’s reputation for debauchery. His nickname, Modi, rhymes with the French word maudit (accursed), a name he very likely acquired because of his lifestyle. Modigliani died of tuberculosis and complications probably brought on by substance abuse and hard living. The tragic fact that Jeanne Hébuterne, pregnant with their second child, committed suicide the next day has only contributed to the infusion of romantic speculation concerning Modigliani’s work."
Jennifer Blessing
Amedeo Modigliani, 1917, Expressionism, Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, NY, US
Jules Pascin, 1908, Expressionism
Rene Magritte, 1943, Carcassonne, France, Surrealism: Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels, Belgium
Rene Magritte, 1923; Brussels, Belgium, Cubism
Rene Magritte, 1925; Brussels, Belgium, Cubism
Henri Matisse
1907
Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA), Baltimore, MD, US
Pablo Picasso,Musée Picasso, Paris, France1934, Surrealism
Egon Schiele, 1917, Leopold Museum, Vienna, Austria
Henri Matisse, 1907
Lucian Freud
1972-73
Tate Modern, London, UK
Henri Matisse, San Antonio Museum of Art
François Boucher (1703-1770), Musée de Beaux Arts Montréal
Cindy Sherman, 1992, Feminist Art
Alberto Giacometti, 1959
John French Sloan
1925
New Realism
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1850-1860
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1890
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1907
Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
c.1909
Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
1917
Eugene Delacroix
1824
Eugene Delacroix
1825-1826
Louvre, Paris, France
Picasso, 1967
Picasso, 1955
Henri Matisse, 1909
Egon Schiele, 1912, Vienna, Austria
Amedeo Modigliani, 1917, Expressionism, Barnes Foundation, Lower Merion, PA, US
Amedeo Modiglian, 1916, Expressionism, E.G. Bührle Foundation, Zürich, Switzerland
Amedeo Modigliani, 1917, Expressionism
Amedeo Modigliani. 1917
Amedeo Modigliani, 1917, Expressionism, Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM), Oberlin, OH, US
Pablo Picasso, 1955, Expressionism
Pablo Picasso, 1964, Expressionism
Max Beckmann, 1929, Expressionism
Gustave Courbet, Realism
Zinaida Serebriakova, 1935, Art Deco
Zinaida Serebriakova, 1935, Art Deco
Francis Bacon, 1961