Page 55 - Mediterraneo e dintorni - 3-2020

colosi. Vissero un amore intenso, sTories of arTisTiC aND
clandestino e disperato, per tre seNTiMeNTaL Life CoupLes iN arT
anni in un bugigattolo freddo ma
riscaldato dal fuoco della passio- Artistic and sentimental life to-
gether usually mean breaking
ne e dell’arte. Ben presto l’amata boundaries and upsetting potential
Jeanne divenne musa ispiratrice, creations. If we look at the world of
(sovente accade nelle coppie di art, literature or music, there are many
artisti) di molti disegni e dipinti famous names who have shared an
a olio: ancora oggi possiamo am- intense or tormented love story tied in
a double thread in a labyrinthine inter-
mirare nelle opere di Modigliani weaving of infinite emotions and daily
quella figura di donna esile, ari- rediscoveries. It is difficult to penetrate Lee Krasner e Jackson Pollock
stocratica dal lungo collo, che into the life of an artist, especially when
caratterizzò quasi tutta la pro- we are faced with a couple of artists:
duzione dell’artista, immorta- different personalities, different artis-
landolo nella storia dell’arte fino tic languages, multiplicity of thought,
in constant competition. Frida Kahlo
ai nostri giorni, e presumo che and Diego Rivera, Marina Abramovic
se ne parlerà ancora negli anni and Ulay, Pablo Picasso and Dora Mar,
a venire. Pare che il loro unico Amedeo Modigliani and Jeanne, Max
sostentamento fossero sardine Ernest and Leonor Carrington, Jackson
in scatola sparse in quel gelido Pollok and Lee Krasner. Intricate and
often dramatic life stories, always in
studio in cui viveva la coppia the balance between fantasy and real-
in uno stato totale di degrado e ity, creative exaltation and decay, many
miseria. Segno che le difficoltà sacrifices, deprivations, subtractions from
materiali e i drammi personali in- commonplaces, failures! I want to tell you
ducono, come unico senso della about one of the many vicissitudes of a
propria vita, a creare autentiche e couple of artists, which ended dramatical- Leonora Carrington e Max Ernst (Archivio Miller)
ly: that of Amedeo Modigliani and Jeanne,
genuine opere d’arte. Nel 1920 his partner. They met in 1917, she nineteen
Amedeo Modigliani muore; due and he thirty-three. She was shy and mel-
giorni dopo, Jeanne incinta al ancholic of a new beauty, but strong of
nono mese della seconda figlia, her intelligence and her skills as a painter,
muore suicida lanciandosi dal with devotion and fondness for her exclu-
sive Modì, alcoholic, penniless, drugged,
quinto piano da una fredda ca- suffering from tuberculosis. They lived an
mera d’albergo. Non avrebbe più intense love, clandestine and desperate, for
potuto vivere senza il suo Modì. three years in a cold closet but heated by
Un altro tratto caratteristico del the fire of passion and art. Soon the belov-
fare arte è il silenzio, una quiete ed Jeanne became the inspiring muse (of-
necessaria per creare nel proprio ten happens in couples of artists) of many
drawings and oil paintings: even today we
spazio che poi diventa “immen- can admire in Modigliani’s works that fig-
so”; l’arte ti traghetta in mondi ure of a slender, aristocratic woman with a Marina Abramovic e Ulay (foto Shelby Lessig)
sconfinati e irraggiungibili, inva- long neck, which characterized almost all
licabili, sovente tortuosi. Spesso the production by the artist, immortalizing
fondamentale in quest’accoppia- it in the history of art up to the present day,
and I assume that it will be discussed again
ta artistica è la tenacia della don- in the years to come. It seems that their only
na, la compagna, la musa, l’ispi- sustenance were canned sardines scattered of their husband, such as Sonia Delaunay
ratrice, l’alter ego. Molte artiste in that icy studio where the couple lived in a for example. Lee Krasner was also Pollock’s
hanno rinunciato alla loro rea- total state of degradation and misery. devoted companion: a great painter, a
lizzazione a favore del proprio A sign that material difficulties and per- pioneer of abstract expressionism, she un-
marito, come Sonia Delaunay sonal dramas lead, as the only meaning of derstood the talent of Jackson, the inventor
one’s life, to create authentic and genuine
of “drained” painting, and transformed
per esempio. Anche Lee Krasner works of art. In 1920 Amedeo Modigliani him into the star of contemporary art. The
fu devota compagna di Pollock: dies; two days later, Jeanne pregnant in the more contemporary Marina Abramovic
grande pittrice, pioniera dell’e- ninth month of her second daughter, dies has become famous together with her
spressionismo astratto, capì il of suicide by jumping from the fifth floor Ulay for spectacular and introspective per-
talento di Jackson, l’inventore from a cold hotel room. She could no longer formances of human behavior: it will be
remembered that in 2017 at the Louisiana
have lived without her Modì. Many artists
della pittura “sgocciolata”, e lo have renounced their realization in favor Museum, sitting at the head of a long ta-

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