The new Modigliani retrospective, at the Jewish Museum in Manhattan, has been drawing unexpected crowds!
During the early 1900s the Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani developed a unique
style.
In 1906, Modigliani settled in Paris where he encountered the works of Henry de Toulousse-Lautrec, Georges Rouault and Pablo Picasso, and assimilated their influences. The strong influence of Paul Cezanne's paintings is clearly evident, both in Modigliani's deliberate distortion of the figure and the free use of large, flat areas of color. His friendship with Constantin Brancusi kindled Modigliani's interest in sculpture, in which he would continue his very personal idiom, distinguished by strong linear rhythms, simple elongated forms and verticality.
After 1915 Modigliani devoted himself entirely to painting, producing some of his best works. His interest in African masks and sculpture remains evident, especially in the treatment of the sitters' faces: flat and masklike, with almond eyes, twisted noses, pursed mouths and elongated necks.
The Jewish Museum
Felix Warburg Residence
1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd St.
10128 Manhattan
New York
p.+(212)-423-3200
Modigliani: Beyond the Myth will be on exhibit until September 19, 2004
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