Amedeo Modigliani: Complete Biography, Childhood, and Early Years in Paris

Amedeo Modigliani was one of the most important artists of the vanguard movements, and not only a famous painter, but also a sculptor. He belonged to the Paris School, a small group of artists and intellectuals who worked in the city during the two world wars.

Amedeo Modigliani's Biography

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was born in the city of Livorno, Italy on July 12, 1884. His family belonged to the Jewish bourgeoisie. His mother, Eugénie Garsin, was from a family established in Marseille, France. His mother played an important role in his formation, knowing about his health problems, she was always supporting him.

In his childhood, Amedeo suffered from several serious illnesses that affected his health throughout his life. At the Liceu in Livorno, his teachers noticed his inclination for drawing. He frequently missed classes due to illness.
In 1895, at the age of 11, he contracted pleurisy. In 1898, he had typhoid fever with pulmonary complications, during this period, he occupied his time in rest with readings chosen by his mother: poetry and texts on the history of art.

Threatened by tuberculosis, which he had a relapse in 1901, his mother decided to spend some time with him in regions with milder climates such as Capri, Naples, and Florence.

In 1902, he enrolled in the Scuola Líbera di Nudo in Florence.

In 1903, Amedeo Modigliani settled in Venice and enrolled in the Academia di Belle Arti di Venezia to improve and deepen his training.

In 1906, Modigliani moved to Paris for good, he was in the artistic capital. There, he studied at the Académie Colarossi. Initially, he settled in Montmartre. During this period, Modigliani created a work considered one of his most important, The Violinist, which was exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants in 1909.

In the following years, Modigliani moved to Montparnasse, where he became friends with the sculptor Brancusi. The cubism had a profound impact on him.

The name of Amedeo Modigliani and that of Montparnasse are intimately linked in the history of art of the 20th century and, above all, in the legend of the Paris School. It was in Montparnasse that, living with his friends during the so-called "years of madness", he created almost all his works. Modigliani became one of the so-called "artists maledicted" of the Paris School, with his unbridled temperament tending towards self-destruction. In 1910, he established a strong relationship with the Russian poet Anna Akhmatova.

Anna Akhmátova and Amedeo Modigliani. She, a Russian aristocratic poet. He, an Italian artist without a penny in his pocket. Their encounters were able to awaken passions and inspiration in these two important names. He became a character in her poems. She, a model for his drawings and sculptures.

A charismatic figure of great physical beauty and prodigious memory, she marked her presence in the cafes of Montparnasse, reciting with brilliance and expression, verses by Dante Alighieri, then making quick drawings of the environment and people, in exchange for small amounts or even a glass of wine.

MODIGLIANI... Modi ...
His childhood nickname, Modi, which was pronounced similarly to the word maudit (cursed in French), began to be used by some as a pun for damned. By calling him that, he would determine his lifestyle, even before it was possible to recognize the artistic value of his work, defined by its audacity and personality.

He had a strong personality, never accepted advice from anyone. He had immense passion for art, life, and love. He defended his ideas without caring about what others would say or think. He was of a ferine authenticity.

Like many painters and artists of his time, Modigliani lived the experience of extreme poverty, he depended on the sale of his works to live. Sometimes he made a drawing in exchange for food in any restaurant in Paris. It was when he met through friends the poet Leopold Zborowski, who became his best and most devoted friend, was also a great supporter and art dealer.

Zborowski manages to get an individual exhibition of his works in the Galerie Weil in 1917. The exhibition was a failure, causing great scandal, thanks to Modigliani's famous nudes and lasted only one day.

In the same year, he met the great love of his life. When Jeanne Hébuterne entered the Café de La Rotonde, everyone was competing to see who would be the first with the beautiful young woman. Modigliani, despite his reputation as a womanizer, was a charming and seductive man, won. He was a mature man, and Jeanne was only 18 years old. He wanted to draw her, she accepted, they went to a hotel, he painted her, then they slept together and fell in love. They never separated...