Modigliani and Hebuterne: A Tragic Love Affair

I have always been fascinated with great artists and their muses - many of whom were great artists in their own right. Several examples come to mind: Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo; Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe, and a couple I have only recently discovered - Amedeo Modigliani and Jeanne Hebuterne.

Modigliani by Hebuterne

Modigliani was the quintessential "Beautiful Loser," a dark, handsome, extremely talented, womanizing drug addict. He seemed fated to the lonely, alienated life of a tortured artist, lost amid the shallowness and illusive satisfactions of a string of short romances and one-night stands - until he met Hebuterne.

I was first exposed to Hebuterne through a certain Modigliani's portrait that mesmerized me. I googled her, took in all the information I could find and swiftly fell for her. Additional photos only strengthened and solidified my obsession with her. She was absolutely beautiful and captivating. More so than Tina Modotti in my opinion. (If you aren't familiar with Modotti, then Google her by all means. She was the epitome of burning sensuality. Edward Weston thought so, and captured her smouldering aura on film. But that's another story.)




Hebuterne by Modigliani


Hebuterne was born into a conservative Parisian family and was introduced to the art world through her brother when she was barely of age. She sat as a model for many prominent painters before striking out to be a painter herself. Eventually she met and fell in love with Modigliani, who was 15 years her senior, a struggling - some might say starving - artist. What was the attraction? I can only imagine the lure, the seduction, the sweet poison of Modigliani's artistic soul.

Against the better advice of her parents, and perhaps in conflict with her own inner voice and judgment, Hebuterne followed the path of a free spirit and ultimately stumbled into a world of misery that Kahlo and so many others follow in pursuit of a mysterious, intriguing painter surrounded by angels and demons. Hebuterne would ultimately be immortalized in over 20 Modigliani portraits, and that in itself is an amazing gift to receive from such a talented painter. Yet, the beautiful young model/painter was to be tortured in unimaginable ways by her lover's overwhelming addictions and violent outbursts.

They say that Miles Davis beat Cicily Tyson. Cher struggled for years through the dark, dingy back alleys of Gregg Allman's heroin addiction. What was it about Syd and Nancy that captured our attention and our sympathy? Could you feel Frida Kahlo's suffering captured in her brilliant canvasses? Add to this fascinating yet tragic heap, the name of Jeanne Hebuterne.




photo of Hebuterne

 After a cruel, self-destructive run, she was eventually the only one at Modigliani's side when the sickly addict died in bed at age 35. Two days later, overcome with grief, a pregnant Hebuterne committed suicide. She was only 20 years old. Hebuterne's wish was to be buried next to the very flawed man whom she loved beyond life itself.

In a final tragic act of bitterness and grief, her wealthy family ignored her wishes and interred her remains at an affluent Paris cemetary. It was several years before the family relented and placed her bones beside those of her tragic lover. Today there is a tombstone in Paris, much like Jim Morrison's - a shrine where Bohemians go at midnight to drink wine and celebrate the lives of free spirits and creative creatures, remarkable rebels who cast their lot against the winds of society and were one-by-one blown away.

Why do I empathize? Why am I drawn near to these Jackson-Pollack-like abstract human trainwrecks. Why do we stare when we drive by the horrible carnage of a highway collision? The story of Jeanne Hebuterne is like an orchid in a funeral home. A macabre yet captivating symbol of life's bittersweet sting.