The Life and Art of Amedeo Modigliani Quiz

Answer: 1884-1920

Modigliani was born in Livorno (Leghorn) on 12 July 1884 and died in Paris on 24 January 1920, at the age of 35.

Answer: Bourgeoisie

Modigliani's family belonged to Livorno's enlightened Jewish bourgeoisie. Although formerly wealthy, they were in quite precarious conditions at the time of his birth. They, and especially his mother, used however to cultivate cultural interests, such as philosophy, poetry and literature.

Answer: He had a vision in a dream

In 1898 Modigliani caught typhoid fever and, according to his mother, in his delirium he saw his destiny as an artist. Such event has later been questioned by the painter's daughter, but it is nevertheless part of the Modigliani's romantic and bohemian legend.

Answer: 1906

He moved to Paris in 1906, after training in Livorno (Accademia d'Arte), Florence (Scuola Libera di Nudo), and Venice (Istituto di Belle Arti), and becoming conversant with the art and architecture of the Italian masters.

Answer: Symbolism

Modigliani visited the 1903 Venice Biennale, where he saw some Symbolist works. Since then, he developed a strong interest in Symbolism as a movement, and particularly in its attempt to show the unconscious, to investigate the mystery beyond appearances. His paintings, especially the portraits, show clear signs of this.

Answer: True

Modigliani saw Cézanne's work in 1907, in Paris, and was since then an admirer of the French painter.

Answer: Edouard Manet

Modigliani never met Manet, since the latter had died in 1883. He was acquainted with all the others. He became friends with Utrillo just upon his arrival in Paris in 1906; in 1909 he met Brancusi, of whom he also made an unfinished portrait, and whose influence possibly was among the reasons that pushed Modigliani towards sculpture. Roughly in the same period he met Picasso, whom he portrayed in 1915. Modigliani's circle also included Diego Rivera, Chaim Soutine, Jean Cocteau, Max Jacob, Anna Achmatova and many others.

Answer: Photography

Besides paintings and drawings, Modigliani produced many sculptures, particularly in stone, during the period 1909-1914. His sculptures show his interest in African art (as we also see in Picasso), as well as in ancient classical art, as shown in his work on the motif of the caryatids. He never devoted to photography, though he portrayed several of his contemporaries and fellow artists.

Answer: The exhibition was considered to be scandalous

The exhibition, opening on 3 December 1917, was forced to close on the same day because the nude paintings exposed were showing pubic hair, which attracted the attention of police officers, who found it scandalous and closed the exhibition. Apart from easy scandals, Modigliani's treatment of the female body shows on the one hand the influence of classical art, and on the other his modernising impetus, leading him to break some long-established rules in order to portray naked bodies exactly as they are.

Answer: Jeanne Hébuterne

Jeanne Hébuterne (also portrayed by the artist), whom Modigliani met in 1917, was with him till his death in 1920, and killed herself in despair after he died, leaving a baby daughter (also named Jeanne) who was eventually adopted by the painter's relatives in Italy. Modigliani had affairs with Beatrice Hastings and Anna Akhmatova prior to meeting Hébuterne.