The early 20th century saw a huge influx of new artists that people are still talking about today such as Matisse, Renoir and Picasso. One of the least talked about artists is Amedeo Modigliani. One reason could be his life overshadowed his art. Add to that his girlfriend Jeanne Hebuterne who also had a huge influence on his life and you get tragedy. Nadine Van der Straeten decided to write a graphic novel on these two called “Jeanne & Modigliani†and it’s for artists only.
At the height of World War I, Parisian art student Jeanne Hebuterne meets Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani among the Parisian artists. They hit it off and spend their days painting, making love and, eventually, a shaky relationship.
How much of this is true is debatable, but what is presented here isn’t all that interesting. It’s the typical story of young woman falls head over heels for a celebrity, everything seems fine for a while, the man’s vice’s come to haunt both of them and they live and die in poverty. While that is true, it’s a story we’ve heard too many times before. Not only that, the prose comes off as so purple Barney the Dinosaur is jealous. It also gets way too melodramatic in parts even though what’s going on the page is serious. It’s just a slog to read through.
The art fine for the most part. It’s pencil drawing which does fit into the narrative since Modigliani did do pencil drawings. The characters do look nice with some strong line and shadow work. Sequentially, it’s OK but not enough to hold the attention of the reader.
“Jeanne & Modigliani†is a highly melodramatic telling of these two peoples relationship that can only be of interest to artists and art history buffs. Other readers will be put off by the story and will gloss over the art and the overall theme of the comic.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIER-6LrxQk[/embedyt]
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