Modigliani in the 21st century

In Milan, the MUDEC museum opened an exhibition of talented Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Its peculiarity is that almost the whole exhibition is multimedia.

The main exposition is a digital show about the life of the artist in one room, and a completely mirrored Infinity room (floor-wall-ceiling), where reproductions of paintings by the great artist are projected. This creates an effect of infinity, both for the viewer and the "naked" Modigliani paintings. You find yourself among hundreds of nude artist's women who multiply and dissolve in an endless distance.

Infinity room creates an infinity effect, photo © Evgeny Utkin

However, all this almost corresponds to the life of the great artist. About his women is made a separate part in a multi-sectional exposition. As follows from the narrative, the artist had a lot of them, from unknown models to famous women.

The multimedia story, which lasts a little over an hour, covers the entire life of the great artist. Modigliani was born in 1884 in Livorno, in the Italian kingdom. He was born with weak health, at 11 years he fell ill with pleurisy, and in 14 years also with typhus, which at that time was a terrible disease.

Multimedia story covers the whole life of a great artist, photo © Evgeny Utkin

Miraculously healed, he began to study painting in Italy, and then moved to Paris, where he was carried away by alcohol, drugs and women. Handsome, talented, but as they say, with a bad character, he hardly sold his paintings. And he lived at the expense of friends of patrons. Almost all days passed in drunken parties, Modigliani even received the title of "the last true representative of bohemia".

Women fell in love with him, and he was found of love adventures. Only a few main women of the artist's were shown at the exhibition. The love story of Anna Akhmatova and Amedeo Modigliani is very curious. The Russian poetess went to Paris on a honeymoon with her husband Nikolai Gumilev, where she met Modigliani.

Amedeo Modigliani was found of love adventures, photo © Evgeny Utkin

The poor artist fascinated the Russian poetess. It is known that Gumilev hated Modigliani, he was jealous of his wife. And Anna is credited with the phrase "The culture of a woman is determined by the number of her lovers". Romantic meetings, a visit to the Louvre, fifteen sketches, a quarrel with her husband, romantic letters. And only one sketch that has survived to this day.

A lot of space in the exposition is devoted to the tempestuous novel by Modigliani with the English journalist Beatriz Hastings. Two years of passion, quarrels, and several portraits of this woman. Then there was a Frenchwoman Simone Theroux, about her we only remember that she gave birth to a son of Modigliani, however, whom he did not recognize.

The artist hardly sold his paintings, photo © Evgeny Utkin

The fate of Jeanne Ebutern, a 19-year-old student with whom Amadeo Modigliani met in 1917, was tragic. She idolized the artist, and her parents abandoned her, because she chose a poor, drunkard and a drug addicted Jew. She gave birth to him a girl, and was pregnant with a second child. But on January 24, 1920 Modigliani died in hospital from tuberculous meningitis, at 35 years old. The next day Jeanne, on the ninth month of pregnancy, jumped out of the window.

The tragedy shook Paris, about the artist's paintings began to talk. He became famous. Since then, the price of his work is growing. In 2015, one of the "Naked" was sold at auction for 170 million dollars, his paintings are exhibited in the best museums in the world. But he died in extreme poverty.

After death, the price of his works only grows, photo © Evgeny Utkin

The exhibition will last until 4th of November. If you have 2 hours of free time, and you want to learn about the life of Amedeo Modigliani and immerse yourself in the world of the Parisian bohemia of the early twentieth century, into the kaleidoscope of the artist's paintings, you should go to this exhibition.

Evgeni Utkin, Milan, Italy

Here can be your advertising!