Modigliani's paintings capture emotion in quite a unique way, though there are many that disagree. I sometimes marvel at myself for seeing emotion in these elongated, caricature-like faces. But then that's the skill of the painter. He can show you the things you want to see with the lines and colors of his choosing.
Perhaps the reason he did mostly (if not all) portraits is because the act of presenting another human being to the viewer and trying to elicit feeling and thought, is both easy and difficult. Perhaps he was really good at it and exhilarated at this challenge, or perhaps people were merely more interesting and spectacular to him than all of nature and its grandeur.
A especially intriguing observation, for me, being that in most paintings, he wouldn't paint the subject's eyes. Empty eyes. One of the feature films on his life seems to suggest that he would paint the eyes of only those subjects when he claimed to be able to "see their soul." The truth, of course, is something we will never know. His motivations are as much debatable, as I dare say, his talent (or as some claim, the lack thereof).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfBo7AYfTIE
Bonus points for anyone who can name the track in the background.
Perhaps the reason he did mostly (if not all) portraits is because the act of presenting another human being to the viewer and trying to elicit feeling and thought, is both easy and difficult. Perhaps he was really good at it and exhilarated at this challenge, or perhaps people were merely more interesting and spectacular to him than all of nature and its grandeur.
A especially intriguing observation, for me, being that in most paintings, he wouldn't paint the subject's eyes. Empty eyes. One of the feature films on his life seems to suggest that he would paint the eyes of only those subjects when he claimed to be able to "see their soul." The truth, of course, is something we will never know. His motivations are as much debatable, as I dare say, his talent (or as some claim, the lack thereof).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfBo7AYfTIE
Bonus points for anyone who can name the track in the background.
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