Modigliani and the Adventure of Montparnasse. Masterpieces from the Netter and Alexandre collections.

On display 16 Modigliani’s artworks and 100 masterpieces of artists of the École de Paris.

From 07 November 2019 to 20 February 2020

From 7 November 2019 to 16 February 2020, the Livorno Museum will host the exhibition ‘Modigliani and the Adventure of Montparnasse - Masterpieces from the Netter and Alexandre Collections’. This is one of the events of Livorno that will liven up the winter season, born out of the intention of celebrating 100 years since the death of the great artist who lost his life in a hospital in Paris, struck by tuberculous meningitis, an anniversary which falls on 22 January 2020. At the same time the event at the Museum of Livorno represents 'a return back home' by Amedeo Modigliani. This repatriation will feature 120 masterpieces of the Netter collection and the Alexandre collection, which were born from the will of two Tuscans to support the Tuscan artist in throughout his artistic career. The works on display will shed light on the years that Modigliani spent in Paris between Montparnasse and Montmartre making friends with the likes of Apollinaire, Chaime Soutine, Paul Guillame and Picasso. This period is particularly fascinating because of the artist’s over-the-top lifestyle, heavily influenced by his passion for women as well as by drugs and alcohol, but ended abruptly with his death at the age of 36.

Visiting the Modigliani exhibition in Livorno you will have the chance to admire 14 paintings and 12 drawings that have only been exhibited very few times! In addition to Modigliani’s artworks, the exhibition itinerary also includes other works by artists of the great École de Paris. These scholars, mostly international, represent a generation of artists who lived in Paris from the beginning of the 20th century until the decades following the Second World War. This Livorno current exhibition, organized by the Fondazione Livorno in collaboration with the Restellini Institute, is curated by Marc Restellini, founder of the namesake Institute but above all one of the greatest international experts of the Tuscan painter and sculptor. The exhibition at Museo Città di Livorno is really a great opportunity to get your feet wet or dive right into everything there is to know on one of the most extraordinary painters of the '900.

The attendance numbers of the first days of opening undoubtedly confirm the exceptional nature of the event on Modigliani in Livorno: in the first two days of opening (Thursday and Friday) it was visited by more than 3000 people while, only on Sunday, more than 1500 people explored the exhibition! What about you, do you plan on missing out on this unique opportunity?

MODIGLIANI EXHIBITION

We’d like to give you some more intriguing insights in order to entice you to come to Livorno to visit Modigliani’s works. As we already mentioned, among the more than 100 masterpieces on display there are both those of Modigliani, in particular drawings and paintings, and those of other artists of his time.

PAINTINGS: Among the 14 paintings by Modigliani that you can admire it is worth mentioning Fillette en Bleu dating back to 1918, which was also chosen as the image of the exhibition, featuring on its poster. It depicts a little girl wearing a blue dress against a background of the same color tones. The elongated neck typical of ‘Modì’ gives this picture a delicate vein of sweetness, truly emblematic of his style. Also noteworthy is the ‘portrait of Chaim Soutine’ by Modigliani (1916), a very dear friend dating back to Modigliani's years in Paris, who is depicted seated with his hands resting on his knees. The artistic journey continues with another elegant female figure, ‘Elvire au col blanc’ by whom Modigliani was struck, and had already portrayed her four times. "Jeune fille rousse" of 1919 portrays another beautiful woman, Jeanne Heubterne, characterized by intriguing blue eyes.

DRAWINGS: Some drawings by Modigliani, the caryatids representing female figures inspired by primitive art, are also exhibited at the Livorno museum. One of these is Cariatide (bleu) from 1913 which unlike others is not a preparatory sketch but a proper work of art.

WORKS BY OTHER ARTISTS: The exhibition in Livorno on Modigliani was made possible thanks to the collections of the two most important collectors of his works: Paul Alexandre and Jonas Netter. The former supported him when he arrived in Paris, helped him with the project on the Caryatids as well as during his various trips back to Livorno between 1909 and 1913. Jonas Netter had honor of having brought together the greatest masterpieces by Modigliani: sculptures, paintings and drawings. This collection includes around a hundred works that have been included in the exhibition itinerary of the Livorno exhibition. These are representative works of the great École de Paris and belong to artists such as Chaime Soutine, Maurice Autrillo, Suzanne Valadore, Andrè Derain and Moise Kisling.

The exhibition on Modigliani, like any other artist of his caliber, is a special moment to capture the most interesting cues of the artistic and life journey of one of the most important and fascinating painters of the last century. An exhibition in his city of birth acquires an immaterial added value, because it is the place where everything began. This is yet another reason why this is an unmissable opportunity! Get planning and choose among loads of dates for the Modigliani exhibition, including Christmas and New Year until February 16th. Moreover, Livorno is a city that has really a lot to offer: you can visit the wonderful aquarium, go up to the Monastery of Montenero and, if you feel like it, take advantage of one of our excursions from the Port of Livorno excursions from the Port of Livorno that will take you to Florence, Pisa, Siena and San Gimignano!

Livorno and its wonderful exhibition on Modigliani are ready to welcome you until February 20th for a beautiful journey across the art of one of the most important Italian painters of the last century. Seize this as an opportunity to discover the city of Livorno and its many attractions!