"Modigliani: Beyond the Myth"
2004-05-21 until 2004-09-19
Jewish Museum
New York, NY, USA United States of America

For the centerpiece exhibition of its centennial year, The Jewish Museum will present Modigliani: Beyond the Myth, New York City’s first major exhibition of the artist’s work since the 1951 retrospective at The Museum of Modern Art. The exhibition will feature more than 80 paintings, sculptures and drawings by Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) on loan from collections in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, Japan, Israel and Australia. After its presentation at The Jewish Museum in New York City, Modigliani: Beyond the Myth will travel to The Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto (on view October 23, 2004-January 23, 2005) and The Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. (on view February 26-May 29, 2005).

Known primarily for his paintings of reclining nudes and his portraits with elegantly elongated features, Modigliani was an anomaly among the artists (many of them foreign-born Jews) who were active in the Parisian avant-garde in the early 20th century. On the one hand, he remained independent of the era’s many artistic movements. On the other, his bohemian way of life (and untimely death) made him into a legendary figure, whose reputation has overshadowed his achievement. Modigliani: Beyond the Myth is meant to show the full range of his work, placing the artist within the development of European modernism.

The exhibition explores the artist’s heritage as an Italian Jew of Sephardic ancestry and considers how this background may have contributed to the development of his singular style, which melded formal innovations with a variety of historical models from Egypt, Africa and classical antiquity. While tightly focused on Modigliani’s artistic achievement, represented here by some of his most remarkable works, the exhibition also situates him precisely within his social and cultural context.

Modigliani: Beyond the Myth has been organized by Mason Klein, Assistant Curator at The Jewish Museum.

An illustrated catalogue, co-published by The Jewish Museum and Yale University Press and edited by Mason Klein, contains essays by the curator and other scholars, and 241 illustrations (195 in full color and 46 in black and white). The 256-page book will sell for $50 (hardcover) at bookstores worldwide. In addition, a softcover edition will be available only at the three exhibition venues for $34.95. This exhibition is made possible by the Jerome L. Greene Foundation.

IMAGE
Amedeo Modigliani
Hermaphrodite Caryatid, 1911
Crayon on paper

Related Links:

Indepth Arts Resources for the State of New York

Other Important Exhibitions in New York