The Essence of a Person

The challenge of portrait painting is to capture the personality of the subject. Amadeo Mogdigliani (1884-1920) was a master of this art. Like many of the great artists, he was afflicted with nasty diseases--typhoid, then tuberculosis--and he regularly indulged in hashish. Despite his questionable personal life, I do admire his work.

Here is the Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne (1898 -1920), Common-Law Wife of Amedeo Modigliani. 1918. The features are indistinct, but that doesn't bother me. What I like is the casual feeling of the portrait, and I'm pretty sure Jeanne was pregnant here. It was painted in 1918, and on November 29 of that year, Jeanne Hébuterne gave birth to a girl, who was recognized by Modigliani as his daughter. I like the idea that this is a sort of everlasting tribute to her as the mother of his child.

Unfortunately, Jeanne committed suicide the day after he he died from tuberculosis. According to Olga's Gallery, "They were buried together in the Père Lachaise cemetery. Their orphan daughter Jeanne (1918-1984) was adopted by Modigliani’s sister in Florence; later she would write an important biography of her father, Modigliani: Man and Myth." A sad ending, but a great artist.