Modigliani's Portraits of Jeanne Hébuterne

Amedeo Modigliani’s relationship with Jeanne Hébuterne coincided with the final period of his short career, a phase characterized by a calmer, understated aesthetic. His lines grew longer and more graceful, and his palette became richer.

Modigliani had always painted portraits, including some of his Parisian painter friends, such as Juan Gris, Pablo Picasso, Chaim Soutine, and Leopold Survage. But no sitter appeared on his canvases as frequently as Hébuterne, who he painted more than 20 times.

Affection was obviously one reason she was such a recurring subject, but Hébuterne’s unusual features may have also contributed to her repeated cameos in Modigliani’s work. Cubist sculptor and friend Jacques Lipchitz described her as “a strange girl, slender, with a long oval face, which seemed almost white rather than flesh color.” Modigliani’s portraits elongate her face even more, stretching her head and neck in the style of the post-Renaissance Mannerists, from the artist’s native Italy. He paints Hébuterne like a modernist Madonna, occasionally with (his) child.