De Livourne à Paris : Modigliani et le nu "moderne"

Details

Supervisors

Roucloux, Joël

Faculty

Faculté de philosophie, arts et lettres

Degree label

Master [120] en histoire de l'art et archéologie, orientation générale, à finalité spécialisée: iconologie et études des cultures visuelles

Abstract

enThis work examines three aspects of Amedeo Modigliani's work: his biography with a part on his legend, the references of his nudes and technical and formal analyses. The artist and his work raise questions. Who was Modigliani? This Italian born in Livorno in 1884 had a childhood marked by frail health. He was trained in Livorno, Florence and Venice. He settled in Paris in 1906, but his life was not easy. Poverty, alcohol, drugs, lack of sales... these were the obstacles he encountered. In 1917, the only monographic exhibition devoted to him during his lifetime presented sensual nudes that caused a scandal. On 24 January 1920, Modigliani died. He was considered a "cursed artist", but what does this label hide? Was he a drunkard, a seducer, a cultured and shy man? These qualifiers are given by testimonies that enrich this memoir but that need to be qualified. These comments also raise questions about his works. How did he arrive at such a personal style? How did he treat the nude? The answers can be found in his training and his relationships (Zborowski, Soutine, Brancusi, Nadelman, Picasso and others). Modigliani was open-minded and interested in European and non-Western art. His nudes are thus filled with contemporary references (Valadon, Cézanne, Matisse, ...) and ancient ones, notably from the Italian tradition (Simone Martini, Michelangelo, Giorgione, Titian, ...). This is a paradox at a time when the avant-gardes were seeking to renew the nude. Modigliani achieved a synthesis of the arts, but the criticism of his technique remains. Scientific studies nuanced this by answering the question: how did he technically treat the nude? These studies have deconstructed preconceived ideas. The Livornese, whose palette was often described as limited, could mix up to ten pigments. He smoothed the paint to blend the shades. He could also engrave it to give a third dimension, a reminder of his aborted dream of becoming a sculptor. The typical composition of his nudes presents the woman as the central motif, whether she is sitting or lying down. Modigliani was not an impulsive artist but a hard worker in constant search of his ideal of beauty. Modigliani had a complex personality. He nourished his reflection through his training and his relationships and carried out in-depth work on the material, colour and format of his nudes. Exhibitions and studies have been published simultaneously with this work. This has served our methodology by allowing us to demystify Modigliani and to put comments about him into perspective with recent sources that attest to the renewed interest in this artist.