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Thread: Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) was one of the most exciting painters of his time. An Italian & a Jew, the handsome artist captured the popular imagination in a tragically short life. He was a man of genius. 
He was born into a scholarly Sephardic family & family lore recounted that they were descended from Spinoza. He & his polyglot mother were close & she nursed him during bouts of TB. She nursed his artistry too. Nude (1896)
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Modigliani was taught by a local Livorno artist (1898-1900) but he also became aware of artists such as Toulouse-Lautrec. The Tuscan Road (c1899). He began in a naturalistic style but rapidly evolved.
Modigliani moved to Paris (1906). There he became close to Jacob Epstein. He was a noted dandy, admiring Picasso’s mind & not his wardrobe! Woman with Hat (1907), Nude with Hat (1907-8), Woman (1907) & Maud Abrantes (1907)
With a minimum of line he created psychologically intense portraits. Head of a Young Woman (1908), Nude (1908), the Jewish Woman (1909) & Maurice Drouard (1909)
His work is instantly recognisable but his genius was to create personality from paint & his works have a charismatic hold of the viewer. Nude (1909), The Amazon (1909), The Cellist (1909) & Young Girl (1910)
After a break in Livorno he was back in Paris (1909) & was introduced to the great sculptor Brâncusi & became his assistant for a year. He carved a number of beautiful heads & caryatids. Head (1911) & Caryatids (1913-4)
In 1910 he met Anna Akhmatova & began an affair with her. Portrait of Akhmatova (1910), Woman with Blue Scarf (1912), Young Man (1912) & Standing Nude (1913)
Modigliani, chronically unwell with TB, turned to alcohol & drugs to address his fear & pain (1914 on). He decided to shed himself of his old work & destroyed it. He reinvented himself. Diego Rivera (1914), Head of a Red Haired Woman(1915), Little Louise (1915) & Poet (1915)
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Stories of addiction may be over done. He was a prodigious painter & his work was of great ability. It’s known he liked others to believe in his drug-addled dandy routine as part of his brand. Pierre Reverdy (c1915), Beatrice Hastings (1915), Juan Gris (c1915) & Picasso (1915)
He became close with Utrillo & the superb Soutine. He also was a famed womaniser & given to stripping in social gatherings! Nude (c1915), Lucienne (1916-7), Marguerite Seated (1916) & Max Jacob (c1916)
When WWI broke out he tried to volunteer. He met Beatrice Hastings & she would be his lover for two years. Paul Guillaume (1916), Young Woman (1916), Beatrice Hastings (1916) & Nude (1916)
In 1916 he met his great friend Léopold Zborowski, a poet & art dealer. He would help the artist financially & look after his affairs. Léopold Zborowski (1916), The Servant (1916) & Girl with Braids (1917)
In 1917 he had an exhibit that caused a furore. The nudes (visible pubic hair), his style & the avant garde nature of the work stunned the Paris art world. Louise (1917), Nude (1917), Nude (1917) & Madame L (c1917)
In 1917 he was introduced to the beautiful Jeanne Hébuterne. She was rejected by her family for her relationship with Modigliani. They swiftly moved in together. Jeanne Hébuterne (1917-8), Jeanne Hébuterne (1917), Chaim Soutine (1917) & Jeanne Hébuterne (1917)
He had an exhibit at the Berthe Weill Gallery in Paris. It lasted several hours before being shut down by police! Venus (1917), Girl in Blue (1918) & Gypsy Girl with Baby (1918)
The couple moved to Nice in 1918 where Jeanne had a baby. They returned to Paris in 1919. There she was pregnant again. His health continued to decline. Jeanne Hébuterne (1918), Léopold Zborowski (1918), Man with Pipe (1918) & Jeanne Hébuterne (1918)
In 1920 the two were discovered in bed, Modigliani desperately ill with TB. He died on this day in 1924, aged 35. Jeanne couldn’t cope & killed herself. They died destitute & his work unrecognised. Polish Woman (1919), Anna Zborowska (1919), Seated Girl (1919) & Boy (1919)
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