Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Modigliani
When the Italian-born artist Amedeo Modigliani painted his friend and neighbor Pablo Picasso in 1915, Paris was the center of the artistic universe. First in Montmartre and later in Montparnasse, a diverse and glittering circle of creative individuals, including the Mexican artist Diego Rivera and the Romanian sculptor Constantin Brancusi, and writers including the poets Apollinaire and Max Jacob, shared ideas, influences and drinks.
Artistic communities have rarely been celibate or sober, but even by those standards Modigliani was a bohemian par excellence, an enthusiastic imbiber of alcohol and drugs with a succession of fiery relationships. His excesses were such that Picasso eventually wearied of them and the two colleagues drifted apart, although when Modigliani died in 1920 at the tragically early age of 35, Picasso did attend the funeral.
Artistic communities have rarely been celibate or sober, but even by those standards Modigliani was a bohemian par excellence, an enthusiastic imbiber of alcohol and drugs with a succession of fiery relationships. His excesses were such that Picasso eventually wearied of them and the two colleagues drifted apart, although when Modigliani died in 1920 at the tragically early age of 35, Picasso did attend the funeral.
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