Description of the picture:
Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne in a big hat – Amedeo Modigliani. 1918. Oil on canvas. 54 x 37.5 cm
Many times, friends and relatives of Modigliani, concerned about his self-destructive lifestyle, recommended the painter to find a permanent girlfriend, but he stubbornly said that he was waiting specifically for the one that appeared to him in a dream. And wait! The main love of Amedeo Modigliani was Jeanne Hebuterne. Specifically, she looks with her invisible eyes at the viewer from the presented portrait.
Jeanne was a beautiful, catchy woman, very pliable, attentive, and most importantly, idolized her own beloved man, who was more than 10 years older than her. Such she appears before us. In a twist of a long neck, aristocracy and calmness are read, a pink face indicates youth and youth, a hand gesture conveys a special grace. Modigliani himself admiredly told that his Jeanne is the best model, because she can sit without moving for many hours in a row.
The portrait of Jeanne in a hat is considered one of the most colorful and strange images of the beloved master. The heroine is dressed in an evening black dress that reveals her sloping shoulders. The hair is collected in a hairstyle and hidden under a large hat with wide brim of soft beige color. The girl touches her chin with her hand, as if arriving in deep thought or romantic dreams – one cannot help but admire Jeanne’s thin, graceful brush.
A strange and mysterious impression is made by the eyes of the model. Modigliani filled them with some fantastic bright blue color, sparkling and alluring. The author does not deliberately draw pupils, and the viewer seems to be drowning in this bottomless azure of Jeanne’s eyes.
An important role is played by the background in the portrait, which is designed to shade the heroine and emphasize her fragility and grace. Initially, it is a cold bluish-bluish color at the bottom of the canvas, turning into ultra pink on the walls, which sparkles and sparkles with spots, creating an exciting dynamic texture.
The canvas delights with a sense of novelty. It seems that Modigliani first writes his sweetheart, studying every detail and nuances. In fact, for their short life together, the artist created about 20 canvases of his Jeanne, and all the portraits are very similar to each other, but each is special and unique.
A pensive, beautiful girl in a beautiful hat, mysteriously looking at the viewer, ended her life at the age of 22. After the death of her “angel and genius” from consumption and meningitis, she was able to live only one day. Just one day without a loved one …"