Modigliani Month

The back-story of Modigliani is what attracted me to the artist, a true bohemian in every sense.

Modigliani studied the classics, but always went his own way. The melodic lines he paints on his portraiture figures are so precise, enabling him to capture precisely his sitters’ melancholic moods and emotions. A Modigliani is so enjoyable to recreate that I couldn’t help but paint three pieces!

They are:

Jeanne Hebuterne with the blue necklace – Hebuterne was Modigliani’s lover, who, tragically, took her own life two days after Modigliani died by walking backwards out of the fifth-floor apartment window killing herself and her unborn child.

Jeune homme assis, les mains croisees sur les genoux (Young man sitting with crossed hands on knees) – This was painted two years before the artist’s death. The young boy seems to affectionately hold your gaze, a wealth of inner emotions playing upon his face.

Jeune Femme Totote De La Gaite – This powerful three-quarter length portrait may be of a dancer from the Rue de la Gaite in Montparnasse. The portrait shows Modigliani’s stylised yet simple form, his characteristic traits of the elongated neck and face and almond eyes.

I’ve loved recreating these and I hope you find pleasure in them too.

David Henty