Modigliani and his Models
Today I needed a break and felt I should do something that is uplifting and entertaining at the same time. For me exhibitions always have this effect and so I decided to take the Bus into the city (rather than taking the tube and having no daylight until I get out again) to see the exhibition in the Royal Academy of Arts about Modigliani and his Models.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t know much about art professionally, I just enjoy Galleries and Museums very much in an innocent kind of way. I don’t think you need to spend hours and hours in there, it is just about taking in what the art life has to offer. If for you that means going in, having a look at your favourite piece and getting straight back out, that is just as good as holding on to your audio guide and looking at each painting for about 15 minutes to understand its deeper meaning. I might ad as well that it also depends on the company you are in. As it was just me this time I could do everything in my own time. I quite like that as it means you are free to skip whatever you don’t consider necessary and if you feel like it you can walk around the only piece of art that is of interest to you for the whole time you are there.
I do like Modigliani very much. The exhibition is rather small and three o’clock on a Friday afternoon is certainly not the best time for it - it gets quite crowded. However, I didn’t mind much. If I get involved with a painting I like I don’t get easily distracted. In this particular case I also had come mainly for “a quick dip” as I would like to call it. My schedule for the day didn’t leave me much time anyway. Modigliani and his Models is devided into four halls: Sculpture and Portraits of the Artistic Community of Montparnasse, Beatrice Hastings and Nudes, The South of France and Portraits of Hanka Zborowska and Lunia Czechowska, Jeanne Hébuterne and Late Portraits and the Self-portrait. While strolling around I discovered that I actually like these smaller exhibitions as one doesn’t get so overwhelmed that you can hardly take in anymore. The paintings were well chosen and presented, my favorite being a long wall with paintings of nudes in only slightly different positions, all hanging next to each other. This series of grand nudes has been painted between 1916 and 1919. I also enjoyed the Portraits of the Artistic Community of Montparnasse, although this does require a bit more reading and getting background information to fully appreciate what is shown. For me of interest as I have developed a liking of Paris in the beginning of the 20th century, especially the literary and artistic environment and the inspiration one were for the other. During my year in Paris I have also lived near the area of Montparnasse and feel now somehow related if I can put it that way.
Funnily enough the piece of art that grabbed me most wasn’t a painting but a sculpture. It stood in the middle of the first hall, under a glass cube and showed a head in the for Modigliani typical elongated way (I am not exacly sure whether this is the right English term to use). It was stunning! I was surprised to learn that he stopped painting altogether to focus on sculpture for a while.
Born in 1884, Modigliani died only 35 years old in January 1920.
The exhibition will continue until 15 October and I highly recommend it if you are in the area! And as a side note the Royal Academy of Arts is a very impressive building in itself with a beautiful courtyard where you can sit and have coffee. It’s worth a visit, even if you just need a break from busy Picadilly.
And if you haven’t had enough of Modigliani, how about having a look at the new biography: Modigliani: A Life, by Professor Jeffrey Meyers. Or for those who prefer easy entertainment: Modigliani, a film by Mick Davis, starring Andy Garcia as the famous painter.
Modigliani and his Models
Royal Academy of Arts, The Sackler Wing of Galleries
http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/
Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BD
8 July - 15 October 2006