Amedeo Modigliani

In 1906, after studying in Livorno, Florence and Venice (where he met two of the artists who were to be among the leaders of Futurism Umberto Boccioni and Ardengo Soffic), 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 with 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 Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia has a unique collection of early French Modern and Post-Impressionist paintings that are among the finest in the world. An extraordinary number of masterpieces by Renoir, Cezanne, and Matisse provide a depth of work by these artists unavailable elsewhere. Works by Picasso, Seurat, Rousseau, Modigliani (Cypress Trees and Houses seen in the photo), Soutine, Monet, Manet, Degas can also be found there.