Artwork
Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne
Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne is an oil painting by Amedeo Modigliani. It dates from 1918 and is held in the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts Jeanne Hébuterne seated, her head tilted and hair chestnut in color, wearing a dress with visible décolletage.
The painting depicts Jeanne Hébuterne seated, her head tilted and hair chestnut in color, wearing a dress with visible décolletage. She is the central figure, positioned against a background that shifts from gray on the left to orange on the right. This portrait is one of many in which Modigliani used Hébuterne as his model, reflecting the intensity of their relationship which ended with her suicide two days after his death.
The work measures 92 cm by 60 cm and is housed in the Kunsthaus Zürich within the Gabriele and Werner Merzbacher Collection.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil on canvas painting measuring 92 by 60 cm, created in 1918 by Amedeo Modigliani. It portrays Jeanne Hébuterne seated, her head bowed, against a background that shifts from gray to orange, and she is dressed in a low‑cut garment. The portrait belongs to the Gabriele and Werner Merzbacher Collection at the Kunsthaus Zürich, where it is part of the museum’s holdings.
Modigliani produced numerous portraits of Hébuterne, who served as his model and with whom he shared an intense relationship; she died by suicide two days after his death.
History & Provenance
The work was painted in 1918 by Amedeo Modigliani in oil on canvas measuring 92 × 60.3 cm.
It was executed during Modigliani’s stay in Nice in 1918, when Jeanne Hébuterne served as his model and partner. The painting depicts Hébuterne seated with her head inclined, set against a divided background of blue-gray and orange hues.
By the time of Modigliani’s death in January 1920, Hébuterne had died by suicide the following day. The painting subsequently entered a private collection in Paris before later passing into the collection of the Kunsthaus Zürich, where it remains held today.
Amedeo Modigliani's 1918 oil painting, Portrait of Jeanne Hébuterne, is held at the Kunsthaus Zürich in Switzerland. The work is part of the Gabriele and Werner Merzbacher Collection within the museum. While specific inventory or accession numbers are not provided in the available records, the painting is documented in the institution's public collection database.
The artwork depicts the subject seated against a blue-gray and orange background and measures 92 by 60 centimeters. No specific exhibition history, including dates or venues for past shows, is detailed in the provided sources.
Context
Created in 1918, this work stands as a significant example of Amedeo Modigliani's extensive series of portraits depicting his partner, Jeanne Hébuterne. Hébuterne served as a frequent muse for the Italian master, and this painting captures her seated with a tilted head against a bi-colored background of blue-gray and orange. The piece is situated within the final year of Modigliani's life, a period marked by their intense romantic relationship which concluded tragically with Hébuterne's suicide shortly after the artist's death.
Currently held by the Gabriele and Werner Merzbacher Collection at the Kunsthaus Zürich, the painting exemplifies the artist's mature style and his deep engagement with the figure of his companion during the 1910s.
Overview
Created in 1918, this oil painting by Amedeo Modigliani portrays Jeanne Hébuterne, the artist’s partner, in a seated pose. The composition centers on her elongated figure, a hallmark of Modigliani’s portraiture, set against a background divided between cool blue and warm orange fields. The work exemplifies the painter’s focus on simplified forms and striking color contrasts.
Artist & collection
Artist
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (US: ; Italian: ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France.
