Art News & Activities March 2021

Paintings by Amedeo Modigliani

CONTENTS ❖ INTRODUCTION ❖ FEATURED ARTIST ❖ POETRY CORNER ❖ BOOK RECOMMENDATION ❖ ART ARTICLE OF INTEREST ❖ ART ACTIVITY TO DO AT HOME

INTRODUCTION Hi everyone and Welcome to Art News & Activities Spring is on its way and considering the oddness of the past year, everyone seems ready for some light and color in their lives. So, this month I’ve chosen some art that celebrates life and renewal that I hope you will enjoy. As always, send me your thoughts, poems, and ideas. I love hearing from you. Warm regards, Kerry Cobb [email protected]

FEATURED ARTIST: Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920)

“What I look for is neither reality nor unreality but the subconscious, the instinctive history of the human race.” Amedeo Modigliani

Tuscan-born Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani lived a short and wild life. But during that time, he created art that influenced not only his contemporaries like Picasso and Mondrian but artists throughout the 20th century and beyond. His expressionist artworks sought to evoke the emotional side of his subjects, bringing a soft realism to his otherwise abstracted images.

During his lifetime he was often sickly, but this didn’t stop him from producing a prodigious number of artworks, mostly and . Modigliani lived in most of his life, where he worked with Picasso, the Polish sculptor Constantin Brancusi, Impressionist painter Renoir, and Fauvist painter Derain, among others. He also worked with , and through him, he inspired ’s works as well.

Unlike many of his contemporaries, Modigliani preferred to work in the studio rather than outdoors, choosing to paint portraits rather than landscapes. His portraits became his signature art form, and his unique style reflected a major influence from and particularly African masks. Combining the form and shape of these masks with the subject’s expression and emotionalism, Modigliani created stunning and sophisticated paintings that draw in the viewer.

Although popular with his art-circle friends, Modigliani’s works were not particularly popular with the contemporary art-buying public. However, Modigliani’s paintings now fetch large sums and are prized possessions in museums. Retrospectives of his work draw large crowds around the world. .

Learn more about Amedeo Modigliani here

PAINTINGS BY AMEDEO MODIGLIANI

Madame Hanka Zborowska (1917)

Comparison Showing African Mask & Modigliani

Jeanne Hébuterne (1919)

The Little Peasant (1918)

Nude (1917)

The Artist in His Studio

POETRY CORNER Enjoy this spring poem about flowers and joy and the delight of being alive by the noted poet William Wordsworth.

I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high o'er vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the Milky Way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly .

The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazed—and gazed—but little thought What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils. BOOK RECOMMENDATION

Shakespeare in a Divided America by James Shapiro This book is for those interested in literature, American history, Shakespeare, or the American experience. Shapiro finds a unique way to bring together Shakespeare and American history to tell the story of the bard’s influence on our American culture. Whether you don’t know much about Shakespeare or are a studied fan of the playwright, you’ll find this book entertaining and enlightening. Note: This book is available through the Hood River Library.

ART ARTICLE OF INTEREST

Five Experts Discuss Monet’s Most Beguiling Paintings Hear from noted art historians and curators as they talk about select paintings by the Impressionist artist . https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/claude-monet-best-paintings- 1234580881/