Аннотация: Amedeo Modigliani. The principle of a managing creative reputation. A Note on Chapters 1-13 of the Corrado Augias' book "Modigliani"
Amedeo Modigliani. The principle of a managing creative reputation. A Note on Chapters 1-13 of the Corrado Augias' book "Modigliani"
The book in Russian was published in its second edition in 2007. Translation is from an Italian edition (1998).
The biography of Amedeo Modigliani (1884 - 1920) is interesting in that it can serve as an example of "constructing a biography."
The content:
1. What is not described in the book?
2. What is the book by Corrado Augias?
3. Difficulties in writing a biography of Modigliani.
4. Biographical vulnerability of Amedeo Modigliani.
5. Amedeo Modigliani and the mechanisms of the creative market.
6. The subjectivity of this note and semantic accents, the structure of the book "Modigliani".
1. What is not described in the book?
Three fundamental elements of Amedeo Modigliani's creative biography are not described more or less clearly (in our opinion):
- his decision to become an artist, a creative person (the mention of visions during illness is so concise that it is difficult to make up some holistic opinion about this event),
- the process of learning the profession of artist and sculptor ( the beginning of training with Guglielmo Micheli and a visiting of various art galleries were mentioned. A reader, perhaps, has no consistent understanding of Modigliani 's learning process). (A detailed study of the book reveals references to Modigliani's training at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence and at the Regia Accademia ed Istituto di Belle Arti in Venice, at the the Académie Colarossi in Paris; in the process of 'ordinary' reading, these references make no impression and are almost not noticeable due to laconicism) ,
- acquisition by Amedeo Modigliani of own creative manner, of own creative method, of own creative path (the fact of the appearance of an independent artist in the book is recognized, but the movement itself, development is described to such a small extent that, in our opinion, the reader does not have any holistic impression on this issue arises).
2. What is the book by Corrado Augias?
In our opinion, the book is mainly a collection of fragmentary factual data, jokes, gossip, arranged in chronological order and provided by the numerous assurances of the author in his sympathies for the hero of the book. The author gives a significant amount of information that has little to do with Modigliani.
With pleasure, the author of the book talks about the love stories of Modigliani (alleged and actually taking place).
3. Difficulties in writing a biography of Modigliani.
The author of the book mentions the diary of the mother of Amedeo Modigliani, Eugenia, about the works of the biographers of Modigliani.
The works of biographers are more or less secondary.
It can be assumed that the use of Amedeo Modigliani's mother's diary can help reconstruct Amedeo Modigliani's life path approximately before his move to Paris (1906).
The diary of mother Modigliani is cited by the author, as it seems to us, to a minimal extent.
After moving to Paris, Amedeo Modigliani began an independent life, away from his mother and family.
Judging by the book by Corrado Augias, Amedeo Modigliani was not inclined to write letters. The main focus of the author is on five letters sent by Modigliani to his friend of youth, Oscar Ghiglia, also an artist. It is to these letters that the author pays substantial attention.
At the same time, the author mentions Modigliani letters that he wrote to his mother. But these letters are mentioned and quoted to a minimal extent. It seems that such letters were an accidental, episodic phenomenon.
The reader may come to the conclusion that Amedeo Modigliani did not keep a diary and practically did not write letters.
Modigliani was familiar with a significant number of famous creative personalities. Did they mention Modigliani about in their diaries and memoirs? The reader cannot formulate a clear opinion on this subject.
It would be nice if the reader either heard from a biographer that all these famous people did not write anything in their diaries, letters, memoirs about Modigliani, or learned that these people wrote about Modigliani.
One can object to this wish that it is not so easy to find, collect, analyze numerous texts ... But if a biographer does not have new biographical data, then maybe he should call his work not a 'biography', but a 'sketch', "Article", etc.?
The story with the "first patron" Amedeo Modigliani Paul Alexandre makes a strange impression. Paul Alexandre was three years older than Modigliani.
This man provided Modigliani with practical assistance, bought his paintings, talked more or less regularly with him for several years. He was about to write memories of Modigliani. At the age of 73 (several decades have passed since Modigliani's death from tuberculosis), Paul Alexandre still wrote his memoirs about Modigliani, but he never finished them.
There is an assumption that the biographers of Modigliani used a strange method of biographical description. Minor personalities were interrogated, rumors and jokes were collected, minor details (similar material is sometimes called "fables" with irony) and all this material was grouped in a predominantly chronological order. There is a tendency of the forming of a huge (several hundred pages) biographical "fable".
Does any biography present a serious analysis of Modigliani? Or is Modigliani 's life periods between a throwings (ejections) into a canal of stone sculptures - women 's heads?
4. Biographical vulnerability of Amedeo Modigliani.
(a) the absence of (widely known) his diaries and collections of his letters,
(b) the formation during the life of Modigliani of the informational context of his life path (through rumors and chatter), as well as the compliance of Modigliani with this context (as well as Modigliani 's acquiescence to this context). - Often he performed actions in accordance with the image of a scandal, drunk, agressive man, alcoholic, drug addict - in accordance with the image formed in the local environment.
(c) uncontrolled waste of money and time,
(d) spontaneous acts of destroying the results of one's creativity under the influence of depression, disappointment, and other mental states.
(e) inadequate of some mental habits and personal views to a Parisian reality,
(e) a lack of propensity for writing out (characterizing) of own views on own life, on own creativity, on creativity in general.
(g) incivility (impertinence) - in relation to the creative environment and some of its leaders.
5. Amedeo Modigliani and the mechanisms of the creative market.
The author of the book mentions major changes in the state of the creative market of fine arts, changes that took place in France around the time of Modigliani 's creativity.
Interesting are, for example, references:
(a) about the growing demand for art objects from the United States, about the corresponding changes in the mechanisms of the market for works of fine art,
(b) about police officers (commissars), about gallery owners and other persons who started wholesale acquisitions of art objects (at a time of low cost) and made up significant collections for relatively little money.
Some of Modigliani's actions show his inability or unwillingness to interact with the mechanisms of creative markets.
Biographical material provides the basis for the version of 'managed creative reputation' - any creative person can be banned (a negative reputation label could be attached to him) and anyone can be untwisted (be made a widely known person).
Another version has the right to exist - the version of the link between a life expectancy with creative success. Some of Modigliani's Parisian acquaintances, creative people, became famous over time and became financially secure. Perhaps Amedeo Modigliani did not have enough time to gain success. He died relatively early due to tuberculosis.
6. The subjectivity of this note and semantic accents, the structure of the book "Modigliani".
In composing the text of this note, we once again turned to the text of Corrado Augias's book 'Modigliani'. As a result, we found semantic elements that were not noticed by us at the first reading. These semantic elements partly cast doubt on some of our conclusions and confirm the subjectivity of our positions.
However, most readers do not have a habit to re-read the book several times.
Perhaps our subjective conclusions and positions are partly incorrect, but they have grounds, perhaps in an insufficiently thought-out arrangement of semantic accents and in an inadequate (in our opinion) structure of Corrado Augias's book "Modigliani".
[Il viaggiatore alato. Vita breve e ribelle di Amedeo Modigliani, Biografia Corrado Augias, 1998. ISBN 88-04-43646-8;
Modigliani. L'ultimo romantico, Biografia Corrado Augias, ottobre 1999. ISBN 88-04-46883-1]
June 5, 2020 09:57
Translation from Russian into English: June 8, 2020 08:33.
Владимир Владимирович Залесский 'Амедео Модильяни. Принцип управляемой творческой репутации. Заметка о главах 1 - 13 книги Коррадо Ауджиаса 'Модильяни''.