The ALBERTINA Museum is honoring Amedeo Modigliani with a comprehensive presentation to mark the 100th anniversary of his death. Modigliani (*1884 in Livorno; † 1920 in Paris), who was active as a painter, draftsman, and sculptor, numbers among the early 20th century’s most important artists.

Amedeo Modigliani went to Paris in 1906, a time at which Picasso—having taken an interest in Iberian and African sculpture—was beginning to work on Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. This work was to be quite directly influential: it made Picasso famous, paved the way towards cubism, and made a lasting impression on Modigliani.

The ALBERTINA Museum is now placing Modigliani’s enthusiasm for the art of so-called primitive, prehistoric, and non-European cultures at the center of attention in dialogue with the oeuvres of Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuși.

It was not long, after all, before Picasso and the still-unknown Modigliani came to admire each other, a feeling of admiration that revolved around their shared interest in “primitivism.” And it was in the same way that a mutual body of work in the spirit of so-called primitive art arose in creative exchange with Constantin Brâncuşi. The works created during this period of intense dialogue are striking for their shared artistic vision.

Albertina Museum