Amedeo Modigliani

I saw Amedeo Modigliani’s art about a year ago in an article in Smithsonian Magazine. I found myself taken in by his basic, unrefined style. Looking at Amedeo's life, I’ll be the first to admit that it was not one to aspire towards; he lived as a poor drunk up until his premature death. “I try to formulate with the greatest clarity the truth about art and life, in the way that I experienced it.” I believe this one quote summarizes Modigliani's career. I admire him because he depicted life with brilliant honesty and because he followed his passion by painting what he wanted to despite poverty and criticism. I’m intrigued by the way he saw the world.

Modigliani was born in America in 1884. He was the fourth child of Flaminio Modigliani and Eugenia Garsin. Growing up, Modigliani dreamed of becoming a painter. His dream came true at age fourteen when he began studies with Guglielmo Micheli. From there he advanced to study at different well known art schools in Venice and Paris. Through study he accumulated different ideas and styles, but he also stayed true his own unique style. Drinking, partying, and loose affairs filled Modigliani’s life in his search for personal meaning and happiness. During his lifetime Modigliani’s art was not popular therefore he had little money. He worked mainly in France, occasionally traveling the world in search of inspiration. Modigliani, like most of his family, suffered from clinical depression, a contributing factor to his alcohol abuse. At the young age of thirty five, Modigliani died of tubercular meningitis. Soon after his death his paintings sold for millions.

People today recognize Modigliani's genius, but in his lifetime he was seen as a drunken failure. Modigliani's poverty and depression caused him to see the world differently. I don’t think any mentally healthy person could paint such complex pictures. His art work speaks to me because of its honest rawness. When I look I don’t see the crude outside of his models, but the inside. It seems to be a paradox: His paintings are simple yet they show the soul of the subject. Studying a portrait of a man with a cigarette hanging limply from his mouth and hollow, dark eyes staring back at me, I could not help but imagine his life, his fears, and his dreams. He once said, “What I am seeking is not the real and not the unreal, but rather the unconscious, the mystery of the instinctive in the human race.” Modigliani painted what he saw in people - a beautiful mess of brokenness and beauty. Through his art I see life, pain and beauty all tangled up.