Amedeo Modigliani

Amedeo Modigliani perfectly fits the stereotype of the impoverished, self-destructive artist living only for work and women. He was deeply influenced by Renaissance art having grown up in Italy, but chose to spend almost the entirety of his career in Paris. Inspired by the work of Brancusi and the Fauves, he developed a highly personal technique of stylized elongated forms. His sculptures displayed a primitive force drawn from Ancient Egypt and African masks. However, poor health forced his energies away from the physically demanding act of carving. Instead, he increasingly focused on painting, producing erotically charged female nudes with trademark empty stares. Since discovering narcotics as a youth in Venice, he had descended into an ever more debauched and ruinous lifestyle. His posthumous reputation was sealed by an early death (aged 35) from tubercular meningitis, followed by the tragic suicide of his pregnant wife.