Jeanne Hébuterne (; 6 April 1898 – 26 January 1920) was a French painter and art model best known as the frequent subject and

common-law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...

wife of the 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 ...

. She took her own life the day after Modigliani died, and is now buried beside him.

Early life

Jeanne Hébuterne was born in

Meaux Meaux () is a commune on the river Marne in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the centre of Paris. Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, ...

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...

, the second child to Achille Casimir Hébuterne (born 1857), who worked at

Le Bon Marché Le Bon Marché (lit. "the good market", or "the good deal" in French; ) is a department store in Paris. Founded in 1838 and revamped almost completely by Aristide Boucicaut in 1852, it was one of the first modern department stores. It was ...

, a department store, and Eudoxie Anaïs Tellier Hébuterne (born 1860). The family was

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. A beautiful girl, she was introduced to the artistic community in

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

by her brother André Hébuterne, who wanted to become a painter. She met several of the then-starving artists and modeled for

Tsuguharu Foujita was a Japanese–French painter and printmaker born in Tokyo, Japan, who applied Japanese ink techniques to Western style paintings. At the height of his fame in Paris, during the 1920s, he was known for his portraits of nudes using an opalescen ...

. Wanting to pursue a career in the arts, and with a talent for drawing, she chose to study at the Académie Colarossi, where in the spring of 1917 Hébuterne was introduced to

by the sculptress Chana Orloff, who came with many other artists to take advantage of the Academy's live models. Jeanne began an affair with the charismatic artist, and the two fell deeply in love. She soon moved in with him, despite strong objection from her parents.

Life with Modigliani

Porträt der Jeanne Hébuterne, Amedeo Modigliani

Described by the writer (1883–1954) as gentle, shy, quiet, and delicate, Jeanne Hébuterne became a principal subject for Modigliani's art. In the spring of 1918, the couple moved to the warmer climate of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

on the

French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...

where Modigliani's agent hoped he might raise his profile by selling some of his works to the wealthy art connoisseurs who wintered there. While they were in Nice, their daughter, Jeanne Modigliani, was born on 29 November. The following spring, they returned to Paris and Jeanne became pregnant again. By this time, Modigliani was suffering from

tuberculous meningitis Tuberculous meningitis, also known as TB meningitis or tubercular meningitis, is a specific type of bacterial meningitis caused by the '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' infection of the meninges—the system of membranes which envelop the central ...

and his health, made worse by complications brought on by substance abuse, was deteriorating badly.

Death

On 24 January 1920 Modigliani died. Hébuterne's family brought her to their home, but she threw herself out of the fifth-floor apartment window the day after Modigliani's death, killing herself and her unborn child. Her family, who blamed her demise on Modigliani, interred her in the Cimetière de Bagneux. Nearly ten years later, at the request of Modigliani's brother, Emanuele, the Hébuterne family agreed to have her remains transferred to

Père Lachaise Cemetery Père Lachaise Cemetery (french: Cimetière du Père-Lachaise ; formerly , "East Cemetery") is the largest cemetery in Paris, France (). With more than 3.5 million visitors annually, it is the most visited necropolis in the world. Notable figures ...

to rest beside Modigliani. Her

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

reads: "Devoted companion to the extreme sacrifice."

Legacy

Their orphaned daughter, Jeanne Modigliani (1918–1984), was adopted by her father's sister in

Florence, Italy Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

. She grew up knowing virtually nothing of her parents and as an adult began researching their lives. In 1958, she wrote a biography of her father that was published in the English language in the United States as ''Modigliani: Man and Myth''. It took more than thirty years before an art scholar persuaded the Hébuterne heirs to allow public access to Jeanne Hébuterne's artwork. In October 2000, her works were featured at a major Modigliani exhibition in

Venice, Italy Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

by the

Fondazione Giorgio Cini The Giorgio Cini Foundation (''Italian: Fondazione Giorgio Cini''), or just Cini Foundation, is a cultural foundation founded 20 April 1951 in memory of Giorgio Cini, an Italian entrepreneur who died in August 1949. History The Foundation is loca ...

. It was revealed in January 2010 that the works presented at the exhibition were forged. Christian Parisot, the curator of the exhibition, had been accused by Hébuterne's grandnephew of faking 77 drawings. He was sentenced to a two-year suspended sentence and a 50,000€ ($70,000) fine by a French court of appeals.

Gallery

Works by Jeanne Hébuterne

File:Naturamorta.jpg, ''Natura morta'' File:Jeanne Hébuterne - Autoportrait.jpg, ''Self portrait'', 1916

Works by Modigliani featuring Hébuterne

File:Jeanne Hebuterne by Amedeo Modigliani.jpg, Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne by Amedeo Modigliani File:Jeanne Hébuterne (1898–1920) MET DT2180.jpg, ''Jeanne Hébuterne'' by Modigliani, 1919 Amedeo Modigliani - Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne, Seated, 1918 - Google Art Project.jpg, 1918

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hebuterne, Jeanne 1898 births 1920 deaths 1920 suicides 20th-century French women artists Académie Colarossi alumni Artists from Paris Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Female suicides French artists' models French Roman Catholics French women painters Modern painters Painters who committed suicide Suicides by jumping in France