''Seated Nude'' is an oil on canvas painting by Italian artist
Amedeo Modigliani
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...
created in 1918. The painting is one of the dozens of nudes created by Modigliani between 1916 and 1919.
Description
''Seated Nude'' was painted in the time when the
Futurists
Futurists (also known as futurologists, prospectivists, foresight practitioners and horizon scanners) are people whose specialty or interest is futurology or the attempt to systematically explore predictions and possibilities abou ...
’ movement in Paris stopped painting traditional nudes, however Modigliani took the challenge to paint the nudes for the pure sense of painting.
Simultaneously abstracted and erotically detailed, they exhibit a formal grace referencing nude figures of the
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...
while at the same time objectifying their subjects' sexuality; they "exemplify his position between tradition and modernism".
The nudes of this period are "displayed boldly, with only the faintest suggestion of setting.... neither demure nor provocative, they are depicted with a degree of objectivity. Yet the uniformly thick, rough application of paint— as if applied by a sculptor's hand— is more concerned with mass and the visceral perception of the female body than with titillation and the re-creation of translucent, tactile flesh".
The painting combines classic elements and abstract way of painting.
''Seated Nude'' is painted in a modern style characterized by elongation of faces and figures recalling works of
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italians, Italian (Republic of Venice, Venetian) painter of the Renaissance, considered the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school (art), ...
,
Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...
and
Velazques.
Provenance
''Seated Nude'' (1918) was owned by
Bernheim Jeune Gallery in Paris, private collection in Paris, Helen Hughes Richards Collection, and Carter Galt Collection in Honolulu.
In 1960, the painting was gifted to
Honolulu Museum of Art
The Honolulu Museum of Art (formerly the Honolulu Academy of Arts) is an art museum in Honolulu, Hawaii. The museum is the largest of its kind in the state, and was founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke. The museum has one of the largest single col ...
by Carter Galt.
Exhibitions
* Tokyo, Exposition Amedeo Modigliani au Japon, Tobu Museum of Art, 1992-93 - nº 35
* Kyoto, Exposition Amedeo Modigliani au Japon, Daimaru Museum, 1992-93 - nº 35
* Osaka, Exposition Amedeo Modigliani au Japon, Daimaru Museum of Umeda, 1992-93 - nº 35
* Ibaraki, Exposition Amedeo Modigliani au Japon, Museum of Modern Art, 1992-93 - nº 35
* Lugano, Amedeo Modigliani, Museo d'Arte Moderna, 1999 - nº 53
*Buffalo NY, Modigliani and the artists of Montparnasse,
Albright-Knox Gallery
The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, in Delaware Park. the museum's Elmwood Avenue campus is temporarily closed for construction. It hosted e ...
, 2002-2003 - nº 30
*Fort Worth, Modigliani and the artists of Montparnasse,
Kimbell Art Museum
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, wh ...
, 2002-2003 - nº 30
*Los Angeles, Modigliani and the artists of Montparnasse,
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...
, 2002-2003 - nº 30
References
{{Amedeo Modigliani
category:1918 paintings
category:Paintings by Amedeo Modigliani
category:Nude art