Modigliani: From Livorno to Paris

Modi's home in Livorno, Italy (photo from 1903)

​Growing up in the coastal town of Livorno, Italy, Amedeo Modigliani had suffered from Tuberculosis and Typhoid, which almost killed him on several occasions. Each time, his mother Eugenie Garsin nurtured him back to health, at the same time nurturing his talent for painting. She took him to Italy’s greatest museums so he could study and copy classic works from well-known Renaissance, Florentine and Neapolitan painters. While symptoms of tuberculosis continued to plague the young man, he restlessly engaged in spiritualism, philosophy, and literature, but painted vigorously. Sadly, virtually no works exist from those very early years. The truth is, Modigliani really wanted to be a sculptor, and painted only for  lack of something better to do.
     When he first arrived in Paris, in his early twenties, Amedeo rented a shed built of tile and wood on the corner of Rue Lepic, adjacent to a dilapidated building at 13 Rue Ravignan called The Bateau-Lavoir, a haven for soon-to-be famous artists who gathered for meals, drinks, and intellectual banter in the neighborhood of Montmartre.
    It is unclear whether Modigliani’s increasing consumption of booze, drugs, and women was the result of his curious nature, a need to investigate sources for artistic inspiration, or to ward off his inner demons. Perhaps it was the stress of poverty, or disappointment with his life that led him into a downward spiral; perhaps he felt alone, a stranger disenfranchised, or depressed. One day, the painter Henri Doucet brought Modigliani to 7, Rue du Delta, a house rented by Dr. Paul Alexandre, a 26-year-old well-to-do dermatologist who was also an art enthusiast. The house soon became a meeting place for amateur theatrical performances, painting, and conversation. During the next six years, the good doctor did much to support  Modigliani’s work, amassing more than 400 drawings, 25 fabulous paintings and several stone sculptures.
     
Learn more about Modigliani’s legend, and his beginnings in Livorno in Henri Colt’s new book, Becoming Modigliani.

---