Modigliani: A Life - Meryle Secrest (Boek)

Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Secrest, respected biographer of art world personalities (Being Bernard Berenson), musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, and others, sets out in this volume to resurrect the reputation of the modernist painter Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920). Long the stuff of myth and sensationalism, Modigliani's life was fictionalized in book and film while his lifelong battle with tuberculosis was ignored and his art marginalized. Up until recently the literature has portrayed Modigliani as a ranting, drunken, stoned womanizer—"the archetypal accursed artist," as Secrest puts it. Rather, she says, he suffered throughout his life from various illnesses that he attempted to conceal. But the misperception contributed to Modigliani's status as a minor artist. The "separation of truth from fiction" is the author's cause. In her revisionist account, Secrest delves into numerous primary sources to weave together a comprehensive and well-rounded biography of the artist and to bring to life bohemian society in early 20th-century Paris. Additionally, the author surveys the history of Modigliani scholarship, the ongoing problem of forgeries of the artist's work, and the "chaotic field" of authentication. The result is an enjoyable read for all, and a most welcome contribution to Modigliani scholarship. (Mar.)
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Review
"Secrest offers vividly detailed accounts of Parisian bohemia. . .She takes us on a fascinating, up-to-the-present tour of the artist’s posthumous history. . . particularly gripping in her description of the end of his life. . . Secrest’s book both preserves and alters [Modigliani’s] legend. Modigliani’s story is by far the most interesting thing about him. It is certainly the most complex thing, and Secrest lets the complexity unfold in complicated ways, probing it with a historian’s eye, dramatizing it with an advocate’s passion."
—Holland Cotter, The New York Times Book Review

"[Secrest is an] adept biographer. . . a masterly account."
—Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker

"An engaging writer and highly accomplished biographer…the man [Secrest] portrays is far more complicated and interesting than his popular image."
—Suzanne Muchnic, Los Angeles Times

"With a keen nose for canards and unprecedented access to primary materials, exemplary biographer Secrest revisits the life and achievement of artist Modigliani. . . Every aspect of Modigliani’s life takes on new meaning, including his iconic portraits. . . Astute and gripping."
—Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred)

http://www.amazon.com/Modigliani-Life-Meryle-Secrest/dp/0307263681/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302196995&sr=8-1