“Le Grand Nu” by Amedeo Modigliani (Museum of Modern Art, NYC)

“Le Grand Nu” by Amedeo Modigliani is one of the dozens of nudes created by Modigliani in a modern style characterized by elongation of faces and figures that echo precursors such as Titian, Goya, and Velázquez. However, Modigliani’s figures differ significantly in the level of raw sensuality they transmit. Unlike depictions of female nudes from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century, in which female nudity is couched in mythology or allegory, this series of paintings are without any such context, highlighting the painting’s eroticism.

The several dozen nudes that Modigliani painted between 1916 and 1919 constitute many of his best-known works. Modigliani’s dealer commissioned this series of nudes and friend, who lent Modigliani the use of his apartment, supplied models, painting materials, and paid him for his work. The paintings from this arrangement were, therefore, different from his previous depictions of friends and lovers. These paintings were funded by Zborowski, his art dealer, either for his collection or for their commercial potential.

The nude, which depicts an anonymous model, is one of a series of nude artworks that caused a scandal when they were first exhibited at the Modigliani’s only solo show in Paris in 1917. A crowd formed outside the gallery window, where one of the nudes was openly on display and police demanded the immediate closure of the exhibition. Ultimately, Modigliani’s nudes reaffirm and reinvigorate the nude as a subject of modernist art.

Amedeo Modigliani

Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France and is known for portraits and nudes. Modigliani moved to Paris in 1906, where he came into contact with prominent artists such as Pablo Picasso. From 1909 to 1914, he devoted himself mainly to sculpture in which the linear form of African sculpture and the figurative Renaissance painters informed his work. His main subject was portraits and full figures of humans, both in the images and in sculptures. Later he painted the human figure almost exclusively and created many reclining female nudes. During his life, Amedeo Modigliani had little success and died aged 35 in Paris.

Le Grand Nu

Title: Le Grand Nu
German: Großer Liegender Akt
Artist: Amedeo Modigliani
Created: 1917
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 73 × 116 cm (28.7 × 45.7 in)
Museum: Museum of Modern Art, NYC

Amedeo Modigliani

Name: Amedeo Clemente Modigliani
Born: 1884 – Livorno, Tuscany, Italy
Died: 1920 (aged 35) – Paris, France
Nationality: Italian
Notable work:
- Nude (The Guggenheim, NY)
- Reclining Nude (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY)
- Nude on a Divan (National Gallery of Art, DC)
- Nude on a Blue Cushion (National Gallery of Art, DC)
- Le Grand Nu (Museum of Modern Art, NY)
- Seated Nude (Courtauld Gallery, London)
- Seated Nude (Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu)
- Portrait of Dr. Paul Alexandre (Yamazaki Mazak Museum of Art)
- Jeanne Hébuterne
- Adrienne (Woman with Bangs)