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Largest collection of Modigliani nudes ever seen in UK go on show Largest collection of Modigliani nudes ever seen in UK go on show
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A hundred years ago police in Paris closed down a show by Modigliani because of his scandalous and indecent painting of a female nude which included, horror of horrors, pubic hair.A hundred years ago police in Paris closed down a show by Modigliani because of his scandalous and indecent painting of a female nude which included, horror of horrors, pubic hair.
On Thursday, Tate Modern will exhibit 12 nudes by the artist and do not expect an eyelid to be batted. “It is really fantastic. We are so excited,” said Nancy Ireson, the gallery’s curator of international art. “It is the largest group of his nudes which have ever been shown together in the UK.” On Thursday Tate Modern will exhibit 12 nudes by the artist and do not expect an eyelid to be batted. “It is really fantastic. We are so excited,” said Nancy Ireson, the gallery’s curator of international art. “It is the largest group of his nudes which have ever been shown together in the UK.”
The 12 paintings are among 100 works going on display for the most comprehensive Modigliani exhibition ever held in the UK. The 12 paintings are among 100 works going on display for the most comprehensive Modigliani exhibition ever held in the UK. Curators want to shine new light on an artist who is sometimes better known for his dissolute lifestyle, and show too that there is far more to Modigliani than portraits of long-faced people with blank, almond, eyes.
Curators want to shine new light on an artist sometimes better known for his dissolute lifestyle and show too that there is far more to Modigliani than portraits of long-faced people with blank, almond eyes. The exhibition will also include the gallery’s first venture into virtual reality with visitors able to put on equipment that will give the impression of being in the artist’s small, chaotic, tobacco smoke-filled studio. The gathering of the nudes, many from private collections and rarely seen in public, was particularly exciting, said Ireson.
The exhibition will also include the gallery’s first venture into virtual reality with visitors able to put on equipment to feel as if they are in the artist’s small, chaotic, tobacco smoke-filled studio. Modigliani modernised the painting of naked models, the exhibition says, although it was all too much for one passerby who saw one of his nudes hanging in the window of the Berthe Weill gallery in December 1917. That was the artist’s first and, in his lifetime, only solo exhibition, and it was temporarily closed by a police commissioner who objected to the presence of pubic hair in the work.
The gathering of the nudes, many from private collections and rarely seen in public, is particularly exciting, said Ireson. Ireson hopes 2017 visitors will see more than just naked flesh. “They really are extraordinary works. They have this amazing sensuality and yet at the same time they tell us about a very strong moment in time for young women. Women’s history was changing.”
Modigliani modernised the painting of naked models, the exhibition argues, although it was all too much for one passerby who saw one of his nudes hanging in the window of the Berthe Weill gallery in December 1917. The works were painted during the first world war when most young men were away fighting, a time which gave women more work opportunities and more independence. “They might not marry. They might live alone. They didn’t necessarily have to have children. Although it’s not feminism as we might recognises it today, I think it is actually quite interesting to think of these people as women making a choice,” said Ireson. She said the modelling was lucrative work, with the women paid twice as much as they would get by working in a factory.
It was the artist’s first and, in his lifetime, only solo exhibition and was temporarily closed by a police commissioner who objected to the presence of pubic hair in the work.
Ireson hopes 2017 visitors will see more than just naked flesh, gorgeous though it is. “They really are extraordinary works. They have this amazing sensuality and yet at the same time they tell us about a very strong moment in time for young women. Women’s history was changing.”
The works were painted during the first world war when most young men were away fighting. That helped give women more work opportunities and more independence.
“They might not marry. They might live alone. They didn’t necessarily have to have children. Although it’s not feminism as we might recognises it today, I think it is actually quite interesting to think of these people as women making a choice.”
Ireson said the modelling was lucrative work, with the women paid twice as much as they would get by working in a factory.
Some models look nervous, some supremely confident. “You feel these women are portraying their characters,” said Ireson. “Yes, they are modelling, but often they are making choices of hairstyle and makeup which are quite bold for the time.”Some models look nervous, some supremely confident. “You feel these women are portraying their characters,” said Ireson. “Yes, they are modelling, but often they are making choices of hairstyle and makeup which are quite bold for the time.”
Amedeo Modigliani was born in Livorno, Italy, in 1884 to parents who both came from Sephardic Jewish families. Amedeo Modigliani was born in Livorno, Italy, in 1884 to parents who both came from Sephardic Jewish families. He was an ill child, often bedridden for long periods, but that allowed him to read the works of Baudelaire and Nietzsche. By the age of 18 he had decided on art as his calling and by 1906 he was in the best place on earth for an artist to be, Paris.
He was an ill child, often bedridden for long periods, which at least allowed him to read the works of Baudelaire and Nietzsche. By the age of 18 he had decided on art as his calling and by 1906 he was in the best place on earth for an artist to be, Paris. Modigliani met and fraternised with artists including Picasso, Derain, Juan Gris, and Diego Rivera, with whom he shared a studio.
Modigliani met and fraternised with artists including Picasso, Derain, Juan Gris and Diego Rivera, with whom he shared a studio. All of this time Modigliani was searching for his own style. The Modigliani expert Simonetta Fraquelli, co-curator of the show, said she hoped visitors would see there was more to the artist than they might imagine. “Everyone has this sense that Modiglianis are all the same but in fact what you get from walking round the whole exhibition is that there is a gradual development, there is the introduction of new elements that perhaps one doesn’t normally think of. There is a style that comes through at the end but it is modulated and there are differences within it.”
All of this time Modigliani was searching for his own style. The Modigliani expert Simonetta Fraquelli, co-curator of the show, said she hoped visitors would see there was more to the artist than they might imagine. The show shines new light on Modigliani, although it cannot get away from the fact that he was a proper bohemian bad boy, a womaniser who enjoyed rum, absinthe, opium, hashish and cocaine. He died of alcohol-aggravated tuberculosis aged just 35.
“Everyone has this sense that Modiglianis are all the same but in fact what you get from walking round the whole exhibition is that there is a gradual development, there is the introduction of new elements that perhaps one doesn’t normally think of. Fraquelli said the show was examining the work, not the myth. “In between all these bouts of drinking and sleeping around he must have been doing something because we have the works to prove it.”
“There is a style that comes through at the end but it is modulated and there are differences within it.”
The show shines new light on Modigliani, although it can’t get away from the fact that he was a proper bohemian bad boy, a womaniser who enjoyed rum, absinthe, opium, hashish, and cocaine. He died of alcohol-aggravated tuberculosis aged just 35.
Fraquelli said the show was looking at the work, not the myth. “In between all these bouts of drinking and sleeping around he must have been doing something because we have the works to prove it.”
• Modigliani is at Tate Modern from 23 November to 2 April.• Modigliani is at Tate Modern from 23 November to 2 April.