Friends Friday: Jewish Painters in Paris: Amedeo Modigliani and Chaïm Soutine - Part 1 (Amedeo Modigliani)

About this event

This fascinating, two-part presentation examines the friendship, struggles, and lasting influence of two remarkable artists, Amedeo Modigliani and Chaïm Soutine .

Part 1, Amedeo Modigliani, painter and sculptor, was born in Italy to a middle-class, cultured Jewish family. He spent most of his tragically short life in France among the avant-garde artists of bohemian Paris. He is known for portraits and nudes in a contemporary style characterized by the elongation of faces and figures. We will hear about this quintessentially unconventional artist and see many of his ravishing paintings and expressive sculptures.

Part 2, on November 13 , will introduce you to Chaïm Soutine, who was an important trailblazer in the avant-garde of the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. A Jewish refugee from the Pale of Settlement, he arrived in Paris as an awkward, timid, and impoverished outsider. He was soon befriended by Amedeo Modigliani, Jacques Lipchitz, and other young artistic rebels who regarded him as a genius. His radical ideas, his use of blazing color, and his ability to express emotion by pouring and layering paint on the canvas have distinguished him as a singular phenomenon.

This program is sponsored by the Friends of the Teaneck Public Library.

Information on joining the Friends is available at https://teanecklibrary.org/friends/.

The elevator in the Library is currently out of service until further notice. We apologize for any inconvenience.