An Interrupted Friendship – Modigliani and Zadkine on the cusp of artistic greatness in ParisTwo artistic souls meet … briefly … in Paris 1913
In Montparnasse, Paris, two extraordinary artists crossed paths in 1913: Amedeo Modigliani, the Italian painter and sculptor, and Ossip Zadkine, the Belarusian sculptor. Their meeting, although fleeting, was one of shared creativity that defined Paris at the dawn of modern art. Paris in 1913 was a city in a period of artistic experimentation. Montparnasse was the epicenter, where creatives and visionaries met in cafés and restaurants, talking about the boundaries of art in form, colour, and structure. From Picasso experimenting with Cubism to Kandinsky experimenting with abstraction, the cafés and ateliers were like portals to new art movements. For impoverished artists who came to the city, Paris wasn’t just a place to live – it was a place for reinvention. Amedeo Modigliani was already known in the Parisian art world for his portraits, while Ossip Zadkine had recently arrived in Paris, drawn by the allure of the avant-garde. A wood sculptor, Zadkine was experimenting with Cubism. The precise circumstance of their meetings remains a mystery. Although their acquaintance was brief and history offers no definitive answers, their meeting in Paris shaped their artistic trajectories. Modigliani, who dabbled briefly in sculpture before returning to painting, was fascinated by Zadkine’s ability to breathe life into wood and stone. They probably discussed the tension between tradition and innovation, a theme that obsessed both men. Zadkine later recalled Modigliani as a man of paradoxes: “He spoke of art as though it were a divine calling, but he lived with the recklessness of one condemned.” While they shared a devotion to capturing the human spirit, their approaches were worlds apart. Modigliani’s paintings, portraits with elongated necks and almond eyes, were vastly different to Zadkine’s sculptures that sought to transform the human figure into abstract and fragmenting forms to capture a sense of movement and vulnerability. Amedeo Modigliani and Ossip Zadkine each dreamed of becoming sculptors and shared the “lean times” in Paris as Zadkine would write in his memoirs. In 1913, both artists were on the cusp of greatness but had not yet achieved recognition. Modigliani’s health was declining due to tuberculosis and Zadkine was quietly honing his craft in a small Montparnasse studio near the Luxembourg Gardens. The First World War (1914-1918) interrupted this friendship, as brief as it was artistically fruitful. Modigliani abandoned sculpture for painting, on the advice of merchants. Zadkine signed up as a war-time stretcher-bearer in 1915, before being gassed and beginning a long convalescence. The two artists met again briefly after the war, before their paths diverged again. Modigliani enjoyed increasing success with his paintings, but he died prematurely in 1920 at the age of 35 of tuberculosis, while Zadkine began a long career as a sculptor. Modigliani left behind a body of work that cemented his place in art history. Zadkine continued to innovate, becoming one of the 20th century’s most celebrated sculptors. His studio in Paris, now the Zadkine Museum (Musée Zadkine), remains a testament to his legacy. Zadkine would not forget Modigliani and would carefully preserve the portrait made by his former comrade to the point that "Modi" became one of the mythical figures of modern art. The Zadkine Museum’s current exhibition – from 14 November 2024 to 30 March 2025 – called “Modigliani / Zadkine: A Friendship Interrupted” – is the first to focus on the artistic friendship of the painter Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920) and sculptor Ossip Zadkine (1888-1967). Through nearly 90 works, paintings, drawings, sculptures, period documents, and photographs, the exhibition follows the intersecting paths of Modigliani and Zadkine, in the context of Montparnasse from the 1910s to the 1920s. Major institutions have loaned their works to the exhibition – the Centre Pompidou, Musée de l'Orangerie, Milan, Rouen and Dijon Museums, and private lenders. The story of Amedeo Modigliani and Ossip Zadkine meeting in 1913 is more than a footnote in art history. It’s a reminder of Paris’s ability to bring together creative minds from around the globe, fostering connections that transcend time and geography. Their friendship demonstrates that even brief encounters can leave a lasting impact.
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