The subjects in Amedeo Modigliani's paintings are expressionless and disproportionate, their eyes void of pupils and whites. Their portraits make up the majority of "Modigliani & the Artists of Montparnasse," an exhibition of the Italian artist on display at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
Approximately 60 works by the artist are on display, in addition to 22 other works created by Parisian artists who lived in the Montparnasse district of Paris, France.
Other artists featured in the display include Marc Chagall, Robert Delanuay, Giorgio de Chirico, Elie Nadelman, Jules Pascin, Chaim Soutine, Henri Rousseau and Henri Matisse.
Included among Modigliani's works are paintings composed mostly of oil on canvas or cardboard, sculptures made primarily of limestone, and works on paper drawn with conte crayon, pastels, pencil or watercolor, which he created while heading the Parisian avant-garde.
Modigliani's works are a blend of Italian Renaissance painting, African, Greek and Roman art, as well as medieval sculptures. His work is an interesting combination of artistic styles that cultivate into shocking portraits. Modigliani's lovers, friends, collectors and familiar writers and artists were also great inspirations for his art.
His paintings are comparable to the works of Picasso, his contemporary, which comprise of Cubist and Expressionist styles.
The most intriguing part of Modigliani's portraits is the eyes of his subjects. Differing in color from painting to painting, the eyes appear hollow or empty, often making the subject look sad or almost demon-like.
The faces are abnormal, with eyes that are slanted and faces that are organized in a peculiar way. The best way to describe them is that they are shaped like inverted pyramids that decrease in angle and size as one's eyes scale down from forehead to chin. To translate this in the modern world, they all look like the melancholy, alien-like boy in System of a Down's music video for "Aerials."
"Portrait of a Woman" stands apart from the rest. It portrays a pretty face, with realistic eyes, a slight smile, a tastefully shaped face and clothing that reveals the wearer as wealthy. But many of Modigliani's subjects appear exactly the opposite, differing little from one to the next.
Another oil painting on canvas, "Young Woman of the People," is so vivid in use of color and contrast that the outlined figure appears to become part of the crowd. Dark features and clothes distinguish her from the orange and gray background.
Modigliani also painted nude portraits of European women with healthy bodies and glowing skin. "Nude" (1917) is described by the accompanying audio guide as "overtly sexual and engaging" and accurately points out how similar her pose is to Rose Dawson's (Kate Winslet) of James Cameron's "Titanic."
Many of the artist's sculptures consist of ancient-looking, stone-crafted heads, most of which are aptly titled "Head." The sculptures are well-formed miniatures of the stones of Easter Island. As for his works on paper, they are sketchy with Egyptian themes, some with little detail and apparently basic contour drawings. Most of these pieces include the word "Caryatid" in the title.
The setting for this exhibit is beautiful: marbled floors, blue walls, attentive security and people dressed in anything from jeans to floor-length gowns. The atmosphere, though, was somewhat haughty and anything but polite as the public crammed together to stare at the works, with spectators constantly traversing each person's gaze.
This special exhibit will be on display until Jan. 12, and admission costs $10.50 for a college student with proper identification, which in comparison to a night at a grubby bar is a great deal and a refreshing change of scenery.
