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Beyond the Myth: Reconsidering ModiglianiThe first thing you need to know about the current show at the Jewish Museum is that it ends on September 19. You have to run and see it before it closes. There can be no putting this one off. The second is to note the special hours. The museum closes at 5 p.m. on Fridays and is closed on Saturdays, but because of the popularity of this exhibition, it is open late (till 9 p.m.) on Thursdays, when it is also pay-what-you-wish (plus a $4 surcharge for the Modigliani) from 5-9 p.m. And on Sundays, it is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. The third is that because of its popularity, there may be crowds. This said, I cannot overemphasize that it is worth the wait!
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| Amedeo Modigliani, Jean Cocteau, 1916–17, oil on canvas, courtesy the Henry and Rose Pearlman Foundation, Inc. |
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Amadeo Modigliani (1884-1920), an Italian Jew who arrived in Paris from his native Livorno in 1906, had the nickname "Modi," a homophone for the French word "maudit" (damned). The circle of painters of Montparnasse included a number of Jewish artists, and this sobriquet unfortunately stuck not only to him, but also to others, including Maurice Utrillo and Chaim Soutine (and sometimes Chagall and Pascin). Amazingly, this derogatory, non-art historical term was used to refer to these painters throughout the entire 20th century. The styles of these artists varied far too widely for them to constitute a "school" in any sense of the word. Nonetheless, although they desired above all to be "Parisian," their Jewish identity was not necessarily lost. Indeed, some writers have used the term "Diasporist" art to describe Jewish art in exile. The Jewish Museum show and its informative accompanying catalog shed new light on this subject.
In addition to his role as "other," Modigliani's reputation as a Bohemian, a womanizer, and a troubled and tubercular drinker and drug-abuser has all but overshadowed his significance as an innovative, powerful artist. The title of the current show, "Modigliani: Beyond the Myth," highlights its goal to remedy this overemphasis on his life's drama at the expense of his artistic achievement. In this regard, among others, it succeeds, not by ignoring such issues, but by demonstrating their relationship to his unique contribution to 20th-century art.Above all, the exhibition is visually spectacular. The first museum retrospective of Modigliani's work in over 50 years, it includes more than 100 paintings, drawings, and sculpture, borrowed from collections from many countries.
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| Amedeo Modigliani, Jeanne Hébuterne, 1919, oil on canvas, courtesy the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Nate B. Spingold, 1956. (Photo © 1985, Metropolitan Museum of Art) |
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Modigliani's world is idiosyncratic and unmistakable in the best sense. Entering the show at the Jewish Museum, one sets foot in a special milieu, one that reflects Parisian modernism during the spread of Fauvism, Cubism, Futurism, and many other "isms" that signal the birth of "modern art" as we know it. But it remains distinctly Modigliani's own view. He limited himself almost entirely to portraiture. The disjunctions and pieced-together qualities of his portraits, with their frequently mismatched eyes, reflect the strong influence of Cézanne on the young painter. But instead of moving in the direction of Cubism, as did so many of his colleagues, he demonstrated in his art another way of seeing, And, in contrast to his fellow Italians, the Futurists, he believed in preserving the past. His favorite themes—female nudes, non-European art, and ancient art—were anathemas to the Futurists. In seeking to restore their own (Italian) culture, they expressed disdain for what they termed "exoticism." The almost Nazi-like rhetoric of the Futurists was as far as one could get from the inclusive art of Modigliani. On the other hand, his friendship with the renowned Romanian sculptor, Constantine Brancusi, from 1909 to 1915 strengthened his veneration for African, Cambodian (Khmer), and archaic Greek statues. Modigliani remained always an individual, never part of a movement. In fact, his individuality comes through to such a degree that sometimes one feels as if everything the man made was a self-portrait.
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| Amedeo Modigliani, Seated Man With Orange Background, 1918, oil on canvas, from a private collection. |
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The show is divided into six sections: Caryatids, Sculpture, Return to Painting, Portraiture, Montparnasse, and Nudes. This presentation gives us a complete overview of the artist's work, from his very earliest pencil studies, made while still in his early teens, through a kind of Symbolism infused with mysticism, to a mature vision, unique to Modigliani. He seemed equally at home making ancient-looking statues (caryatids) and shockingly direct contemporary nudes.
His portraits include artists and writers like Picasso, Diego Rivera, Jacques Lipchitz, Chaim Soutine, Moise Kisling, and Jean Cocteau. Modigliani somehow succeeded in portraying the universality of humankind, preserving a kind of mask-like anonymity while at the same time producing recognizable likenesses. Perhaps there is an underlying parallel with the very different results of the Dutch artist Piet Mondrian. Both underwent intense influences from Theosophy, but the latter instead expressed his concepts in his signature "pure," non-objective form.Jean Cocteau (1916-17), a portrait of the writer—skinny, angular, and effete—is characterized by sharp, angular lines; a lot of black; and a face with pursed lips, one eyebrow arched slightly higher than the other. One eye squints, while the other is wide open. In a few gestures, Modigliani has captured the writer's trenchant wit. The contrast between Cocteau and Seated Man With Orange Background (1918) is telling. The latter's round face, sadly tilted head, limp necktie, sloping shoulders, thin lips, and blank, light-blue eye sockets evoke a very different individual and mood. At the same time, however, both resemble ventriloquist's dummies, or heads on poles; both wear the Modigliani mask.
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| Photograph of Amedeo Modiglaini, c. 1918, courtesy CNAC/MNAM/Dist. Réunion des Musées Nationaux. |
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Between 1916 and 1919, Modigliani painted more than two dozen nudes. These had a shock value so powerful that they were the targets of the censor during—and even long after—the artist's lifetime. It was not the subject per se that caused scandals. Certainly, nudes by many other artists gained acceptance, but something about Modigliani's paradoxical combination of honesty, directness, eroticism, and, at the same time, objectification provoked outrage. Like the artist's portraits, the nudes maintain a kind of anonymity, while clearly representing specific, recognizable women who stare directly at the viewer or stretch languorously. Whether at ease or posing, these women exude power and eroticism. On the other hand, they are susceptible to formal analysis, and can be perceived as an integral part of the modernist aesthetic.Definitely a "blockbuster," the show has been mounted as the centerpiece exhibition of the centenary of the Jewish Museum. Expect to encounter crowds. Go on a weekday, if you can. But know that, if you miss it, you will miss the chance of a lifetime.The Jewish Museum is located at 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street.Art historian Greta Berman has been on the liberal arts faculty since 1979.
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