The initiative comes from the French Senate and is of a very high level in terms of both the quantity and quality of the works on show – around a third of which have never before been shown in France, including drawings and sculptures. The works are derived from private collections and have been chosen by Sylvestre Verger and Marc Restellini. The exhibition examines under a new light the various phases of Modigliani’s work which began in Paris in 1906 where he encountered Picasso, Jean Cocteau and Max Jacob. A sculptor by vocation – a passion which he abandoned due to ill health – he dedicated himself to painting and was influenced by cubism and other avant-garde movements stirring in the Paris of the Belle Epoque.
His painting is characterised by oval faces, elongated forms and compact colours. The Paris collection includes many female nudes, paintings of companions Beatrice Hastings and Jeanne Hebuterne as well as of friends such as Soutine, Kisling, Cheron, Max Jacob. And then brilliant and masterly drawings alongside pieces created for a bizarre, Hollywood style and never built “Tempio della Voluttà” which document his work as a sculptor.
23.10.2002-2.3.2003
Modigliani, l'ange au visage grave
Musée du Luxembourg
19, rue de Vaugirard, Paris
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http://www.museeduluxembourg.fr
