Modigliani: Colour Library

Phaidon Colour Library

by Douglas Hall

Amadeo Modigliani (1884-1920) was one of the many and diverse talents who were drawn to Paris in the early years of this century, making the city a vibrant but pressurized environment for artistic expression. A legend grew up around Modigliani, who, along with others, engendered the concept of the  peintre maudit  – the accursed painter – whose poverty, corruption and excess were the very seeds from which his remarkable works of art were conceived.

Unlike the Italian Futurists, who stormed at their own overwhelming tradition, Modigliani seemed to sense the possibility of returning to it for renewal. His interpretation of a central theme of the tradition, the reclining female nude, produced a series of uniquely beautiful works, outstanding in the grace and harmony of their linear designs and the quality of their colour. Nude, portraits and studies of a surprising range of personalities and psychological types are represented in this ideal introduction to the artist, as is a selection of his remarkable stone carvings, of which about 25 survive.

Genres: Art, Biography, Art History

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

It appears that Modigliani wanted really to be a sculptor -- but his physical aliments (pleurisy and tuberculosis) made that impossible, and so he took up painting instead. His painting style (well-known) actually grew out of his sculpture, however.

There are two-styles of sculpture: rough-hewn and finished. Consider:



Head. 1912. Stone. Perls Galleries, New York



Rosa Porprina. 1915. Oil and crayon on paper. Civica Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan (This is not the one I was looking for; but it is close enough).



Diego Rivera. 1914. Oil on canvas. Private collection



Here are the finished….








(Pierrot. 1915. Oil on cardboard. Statens Museum fur Kunst, Cobenhaben



Study for Portrait of Frank Haviland. 1914. Oil on cardboard. LA County Museum of Art.


Now consider 'Antonia"… and you will see how the advanced portraits developed directly out of the two sculptural styles…. with her round face, columnar neck -- and so forth



Antonia. 1915. Oil on canvas. Musée de l'Oranerie, Paris.





{{I have so far read the introduction to this book, and it is very interesting; the plates are well done, and the book is cheap.

Hall argues that Modigliani, who died of tuberculosis and alcoholism, at the age of 35, in 1920, while certainly a modernist (-- Hall refers to the cult of artistic neuroticism, with its emphasis on originality and intensity of expression --)…, that Modigliani would have been very much opposed to the Futurists (- Marinetti, of course, deified war, violence, and destruction, and rallied early to the cause of Mussolini: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filippo_... -)

Hall suggests two reasons for this. First, and most importantly, Modigliani retained an admiration for artistic tradition (he was steeped in Renaissance painting and in Classicism), which the Futurists wished (simply put) to blow-up. Secondly, of course, was the biographical fact that the intense young artist, since his arrival in Paris in 1906, took to introducing himself as: "Je suis Modigliani, juif".

(There is perhaps no truth in the legend, which he himself promoted, that he was descended on his mother's side from Spinoza).}}

[Constance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Modigliani was with a group of artists who were dubbed les peintres maudits. They were from the underworld Paris art scene.

For years I have been mesmerized by his paintings of elongated necks, small eyes, sloped shoulders. I was fortunate to see an exhibit at The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth Texas many years ago.
One that I will never forget.

He died too young as most great artist do, however we continue to appreciate his work for many years to come.

[Judy Lindow · Rating 5 out of 5]

The body of the book are the bodies of Modigliani -- each large plate faces a short analysis of the work and the artist. At the beginning there's a fairly long biography of the artist. Smaller pictures are intermixed with the text for explanation. a Chronology of his bio and indexes of the work are included before the plates start. Another Phaidon little miracle for the sake of art; a tribute to the energy and life of one of my favorite artists.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to get color reproductions of Modigliani's works at a reasonable price, then this is your best bet. The selection of works represent his works well, and the size of the reproductions is large. I only wish that there was a bit more text to go along with the works, but I guess you would need to buy a more expensive book to get that.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm actually not sure that it was this book about Modig, that I read, because there are many, but artists. Artists...