Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan

Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan (1919) is one of Amedeo Modigliani's most accomplished late portraits, painted during the final year of his life.

Combining elongated elegance, bold colour contrasts, and an intense sense of stillness, the painting exemplifies the fully mature style for which Modigliani is now celebrated. This marks the culmination of his development as a painter, as well as the achievements he enjoyed as a sculptor.

Sadly, Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan is now lost, presumed destroyed. It was the subject of a high profile theft on the 20th of May, 2010 and has never been recovered.

Who is Lunia Czechowska?

The sitter, Lunia Czechowska, was a close friend of Amedeo Modigliani, and served as his model for a number of paintings. Lunia Czechowska was introduced to Modigliani through his dealer and patron Léopold Zborowski. Her husband, Casimir Czechowski, was part of the same circle of friends and supporters who helped sustain the artist during his final years.

They were, therefore, part of this close-knit group in an artistic region of Paris, where poets, writers, sculptors, painters and more would socialise almost nightly, exchanging ideas and building an atmosphere of creativity.

Between 1917 and 1919, Modigliani painted Lunia several times, making her one of his most important late sitters. These portraits are notable for their calm dignity and emotional restraint, perhaps suggesting a more stable relationship between Amedeo and Lunia, as compared to some of his other sitters.

• Artist:Amedeo Modigliani
• Title:Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan
• Year:1919
• Medium:Oil on canvas
• Movement:Modern portraiture
• Sitter:Lunia Czechowska
• Former Location:Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris
• Current Status:Stolen (2010)

Painting Description

Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan is a painting which features several unusual elements for a Modigliani portrait. Whilst the elongated features and blanked out eyes are present, as expected, there are details in the background which differ from the norm.

Firstly, a framed painting comes in from the left hand side, but is cropped out by the edge of Modigliani's composition. There is also considerably more detail on the furniture behind the sitter than is normally the case. The background wall is also a more dominant, brighter tone that Amedeo normally chose - typically his portraits contrast light skin tones against muted backgrounds.

In this work, Lunia Czechowska holds a fan in her right hand. It is opened, and faced towards her. Her left arm is draped over her lap and her entire body is stretched to fit the vertical of the painting. Her neck is noticeably long and slim, whilst her shoulders melt into her torso. The fan is used here not for symbolic reasons, but purely to extend the body's form.

She wears an orange dress, with white undergarment and has a reddish-brown hair tone, with a touch of red lipstick. Her expression is introverted and reflective, typical of this artist's work. He then places some brown furniture in the background which helps to separate the sitter and her bright dress from the thick tone of red which covers the wall behind.

Colour, Line, and Psychological Presence

The painting demonstrates Modigliani's masterful control of line. The contour of Lunia's neck, shoulders, and arms is continuous and fluid, recalling the sculptural approach he developed during his years working in stone. He was forced to abandon his work as a sculptor due to poor health.

Colour plays an equally important role. The saturated red background intensifies the stillness of the figure, while the warm yellows and ochres of her clothing create a sense of inner glow. Modigliani relied on colour because of his relatively reduced details, inspired by African masks and his sculptures.

Place Within Modigliani's Portraiture

This portrait stands among Modigliani's finest late depictions of women, alongside his portraits of Jeanne Hébuterne and other sitters from his final years. The sitter is presented in a composed, introspective manner. Sadly, having completed this work in 1919, the artist would pass away in the following year.

This piece represents a solidifying of the artist's style - much of his experimentation of previous years is now replaced with a refined, calm approach. Lunia Czechowska is presented in a respectful manner, underlining their close but professional friendship.

Painting Stolen

Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan was stolen on the 20th of May, 2010 and has never been recovered. It was taken from the Musée d'Art Moderne de la ville de Paris, in a high-profile art heist that also included works by Picasso, Matisse, and Braque. The theft shocked the art world and drew renewed attention to the painting's cultural and monetary value.

Detailed Images of Modigliani's Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan, 1919

Close-up of Head with Elongated features and Blanked-Out Eyes

Detail of Lunia Czechowska's Hand holding Fan

More on Modigliani's Life

Birth and Early Life

Amedeo Modigliani was born in Italy, 1844, to Jewish parents Flaminio Modigliani and Eugenia Garsin. Modigliani, Sr, was a money-lender and did well at first. Before long, however, the business went bankrupt and the family was forced to live in abject poverty.

There's a story from that time of how his birth saved the family, as a bed with a woman and newborn child could not be evicted.

Early Training

Despite having a difficult childhood, plagued by bad health at every turn, Modigliani used the solitary time to work on art, before even beginning formal training.

His mother, having agreed while he was ill, took him to Florence to view art at the Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi. She also arranged for him to apprentice under Guglielmo Micheli in Livorno.

Career Overview

Although he may not always be understood, many consider him to be one of the best known of the twelfth-century artists. The collection of his many works, such as portraits, erotic nudes, drawings of female caryatids and primitive sculptures have been studied and appreciated for decades.

In time, he worked less in sculptures and more in portraits, mostly done of women. While there are certain parallels, each woman is individually able to be distinguished on their own merits.

Typical similarities in Modigliani's portraits are heads that are more oval than round, narrow eyes resembling the blank eyes of other, older statues, and noses that are long and spread out, recalling faces from African statues.

Death

There they found his wife pregnant, being held down by her delirious husband. A doctor was called but there was nothing that could be done. He died January 24, 1920. He was 35 years old.

Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan, 1919, Amedeo Modigliani

FAQs

References

• Painting on Wikimedia
• Painting on SecretModigliani.com
• The French job - Paris art theft carried out by lone robber

---