Marking the centenary of his death this fascinating film brought to us by the Art on Screen team examines the short, turbulent life of AMADEO (Dedo or Modi) MODIGLIANI (1884-1920).
Modigliani was a prolific artist in various media and the film jumps from his beginnings in Livorno, Tuscany, to his bohemian life in Paris with Picasso and Brancusi, London, America and elsewhere.
We see works from various museums – for example, the Albertina in Vienna, the exhibition dedicated to the artist at Livorno’s City Museum,not forgetting the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the various collections and museums in Paris. We see closeups in luxurious detail of some of his paintings and there are comments by various experts and gallery directors.
Using voice overs of letters and re-enactments ,the film is presented from the point of view of that of his young common-law wife, Jeanne Hébuterne. Along with the famous Russian poetess Anna Akhmatova,(who he had an affair with) and the English journalist Beatrice Hastings, his solid almost caryatid-like portraits of them with their trademark long neck, and at times mask-like faces, became the iconic symbol of his art.
Born in Livorno, home schooled by his mother until he was about ten , Modigliani already at that young age revealed a passion and great talent for art. Livorno is also the home of the Macchiaioli. – Modigliani studied with Guglielmo Micheli from 1898 to 1900 before studying in Florence and Venice.
When he moved to Paris in 1906, Modigliani became friends with among others Gris, Epstein ,Picasso, Matisse, Derain and Brancusi in some ways acting as the cohesive glue between the various artists .He was also influenced by Toulouse-Lautrec and Cezanne. He visited Switzerland, Germany and Austria with Brancusi at one stage . By 1912 Modigliani was exhibiting sculptures with Cubists of the Section D’Or group at the Salon d’Automne .
In the film we see how Modigliani was influenced by Cycladic sculptures and ‘ art negre’. He was aiming for sensual seductive primitivism, seeking what remains behind the mask : the soul of the sitter.
While in Paris Modigliani over indulged in drink and drugs, particularly absinthe and hashish,from roughly 1914 onwards (which did not help his tuberculosis), but he was trying to see things others couldn’t, and thought they took his art to new heights. He was terribly handsome and charismatic, sweeping women off their feet.
Mention is made of the Paris show of 1917 of his nude series of paintings commissioned by Modigliani’s dealer and friend Léopold Zborowski, which was Modigliani’s only solo exhibition during his life, and is “notorious” in modern art history for its sensational public reception, and the attendant issues of obscenity and police raids of the gallery.
The last part of the film includes a fascinating look at Modigliani’s legacy, also the various forgeries, and the various high-tech ways forgeries can now be spotted (x rays chemical analysis…).
We then jump to the 2019 London Masterpiece Art Fair and see how two paintings by Modigliani have been reunited after seventy years. As well, the way that Modigliani is ‘an artist created by collectors’ is examined and now fetch exorbitant prices.
This is followed by a discussion of Modigliani’s relationship with Soutine (at one point they shared a studio), a look at his female nudes, and the sad fate of Jeanne Hebuterne, his lover and muse.
The film ends with Modigliani’s most impressive funeral. Modigliani who passed away at a young age was much loved, irresistibly witty, a great raconteur and full of sarcastic eloquence. Tragically, he died of poverty.
ART ON SCREEN : MAVERICK MODIGLIANI will screen at selected arthouse cinemas from January 30 2021
Running time 90 minutes
http://www.sharmillfilms.com.au/allfilms/maverick-modigliani