Janna Modigliani - the muse of the great artist

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Amadeo Modeliani is one of the most expensive artists in the world. The story of his life is an example of a genius recognized only after his death. He began his creative search in France, where at that time the bohemia of high art was the most progressive. Along with him, such stars as Picasso, Brancusi, Soutine, Kisling, Gris and Lipchitz were born. But his paintings did not bring fame and income. The artist could not find his own style for a long time, until she met on his way - Jeanne. Modigliani drew inspiration from these relationships until the end of his days. Her portraits are now world famous and valued at tens of millions of dollars. But this couple sipped a lot of grief before taking pride of place in the history of painting. Let's plunge together into the story of Modigliani's selfless love.

Love story: Amadeo Modigliani and Jeanne Hebuterne

Modigliani arrived in Paris from Italy at the age of twenty-two. He was known as a gallant handsome man, so many models visited his bed. For a long time, Amadeo wasted his life, wasting it on random women and drug addictions. But he had only two serious love affairs. Both left a strong imprint on his development as an artist. He really wanted to marry only with a youngJeanne Hebuterne.

When for 50 centimes Modigliani once again pored over his canvas in an open studio at the Calarossi Academy, he drew attention to a miniature brown-haired woman with thick braids. The aspiring artist sketched on an easel and erased her work each time, dissatisfied with the result. Amadeo at that moment began to paint her portrait. So 19-year-old Jeanne appeared in his life. Modigliani was already 33 at that time.

Amadeo introduced his beloved to all his friends. They unanimously pointed out in their memoirs that this was the only woman who became his eternal love. Jeanne immediately moved in with Amadeo. Her parents were against such a union, as they were Catholics, and the artist was considered unreliable, besides, he had Jewish roots. Despite everything, this couple took place in an unofficial marriage. They lived so poorly that sometimes they had nothing to eat. The paintings were in rare demand. Then Modigliani could approach some friend and sell his coat. His ailments intensified, his cough kept him awake at night.

Creativity of a Frenchwoman

Janna Modigliani is not as well known to the general public as an artist. More often they talk about her as the muse of Amadeo. For a long time, the descendants of artists did not give consent to the exhibition of her works. It was first held only in 2000 in Venice.

Art critics highly appreciate her work among other expressionists. The main concept of the paintings reflected the spirit of the era, but inDetails Zhanna stood out for her own style. She paid special attention to detail and the choice of color palette. But the period of living together with Modigliani left a special imprint - their canvases seem to be painted with a single brush. One soul for two is placed in these canvases forever.

Another Modigliani: a portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne

After meeting Jeanne, Amadeo painted more than 20 portraits of her. He did not work in the most fashionable genres at that time - landscapes and still lifes. In the work of Modigliani, the portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne occupies a special place. He did not want to know anything around, except for the human soul. He acquired his painting style thanks to a young muse and has never deviated from his personal canon.

His works have characteristic features: the face from the portrait resembles a dense mask, almond-shaped eyes, a nose with a spatula and a small mouth with pursed lips unite them together, make them look similar to an inexperienced look. But upon thoughtful consideration, we see the individuality of the model, which is expressed in the tilt of the head, the position of the hands or the bright choice of colors, not typical of his contemporaries.

All life is avant-garde

Modigliani led a wild life, suffering from venereal diseases and tuberculosis. He paid with his drawings in taverns and with landlords. In a fit of desperation, he drowned his works as a sculptor in the Seine. By the way, they are still wanted, because now their value is undeniable. And then the acquaintances only laughed at the tipsy Modigliani, who decided to show them hiswork.

Amadeo's creative manner made him too different from others to become famous in his time. His first exhibition failed miserably due to the fact that the police drew attention to the obscene image of a naked model on the canvas. Perhaps he found his real place in life only next to Jeanne, who humbly followed her deity in the most difficult days.

Tragic ending

In 1918, Jeanne's parents thawed out a little and, together with a close friend of the artist, Zbrovsky, organized a trip to Nice for the couple. There they had a daughter, who was named the same as her mother, Giovanna (Jeanne) Modigliani. His work of this period was entirely devoted to the chosen one. And upon returning to Paris, Amadeo learned that he would become a father for the second time. Then he undertook to formalize the relationship, to marry Jeanne. His plans were thwarted by a fatal disease - tuberculous meningitis.

In January 1920, Modigliani died. Jeanne silently grieved, which aroused the fear of the family. Her parents took her home by force as she was 9 months pregnant. Having lost her love and the father of her unborn child, Jeanne committed suicide. She jumped out of a 5th floor window. Amadeo was blamed for this. Only 10 years later, the family agreed to her reburial next to her beloved husband. World fame found them only after death. Years later, the adult daughter of artists, Jeanne Modigliani, learned the whole story of her parents' life. She wrote the book "Modigliani: Man and Myth",where the full biography of the genius of painting is collected.