By Jin Hee Kim ART COMPARATIVE STUDY: FANG PEOPLE OF GABON & AMEDEO MODIGLIANI

African mask By Fang people of Gabon Medium: wood Size: 66cm height 16 th Century First impression: Traditional / simplistic / primal

Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne By Amedeo Modigliani Medium: Oil painting Size: 20 x 24 inch canvas 1919 First impression: Lovely / warm/ simplistic

16 th Century Inhibited in northern Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, southern Cameroon, and the western part of the Republic of Congo. Very Spiritual and dynamic group Fang made masks, basketry, carvings, and sculptures. July 12 th 1884 – January 24 th 1920 Born in Livorno, Northwester Italy Italian artist of Jewish heritage Practiced both painting and sculpture Spent most part in France Influenced by his artist friends & by range of genres & art movements & by primitive art CULTURAL CONTEXT ModiglianiFang people of Gabon (African)

Subject matter: Head carvings using mediums from nature ( Masks worn in ceremonies and hunting) Subject matter: Portraits of a women sometimes with cloths on and sometimes without it CULTURAL CONTEXT CONT. Amedeo ModiglianiFang people of Gabon

The mood is distinctive, dry, meaningful, and sacred by using the simple distinctive lines and shapes The crafts person has carved person’s head into an narrow oval shape. He did not carve eyeball and the nose. The color is just natural wood color showing primitive side of the mask FANG PEOPLE OF GABON'S ART WORK

The mood is soothing, calm, warm, and lovely by portraying soft oval shaped face of a woman and warm tone color used He drew closed up face of his wife. He filled one half of the painting with her face and another half with her long neck. He used simple colors and lines. AMEDEO MODIGLIANI’S ART WORK

Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne By Amedeo Modigliani Medium: Oil painting Size: 20 x 24 inch canvas 1919 For lovely wife “Jeanne Hebuterne” Portrays feminine woman with long face / neck (attractive) Greatly influenced by African masks African mask By Fang people of Gabon Medium: wood Size: 66cm height 16 th Century Used in ceremony or while hunting Symbolic / sacred object (represents birth & death) FUNCTION & PURPOSE African MaskPortrait of Jeanne Hebuterne

PROOF FOR INFLUENCE Sculpture & painting by ModiglianiAfrican masks It is evident that Modigliani got influenced by African art but he wasn’t influenced directly but through his artist friends Picasso / Cezanne / Brancusi. He developed his own style of painting based on this influences from African traditional sculptures / masks.

51cm high – which is not much difference in scale Often, Modigliani paints portraits of woman without eyes drawn just like African masks but this one is different. Woman in the portrait is glancing on the left side bringing up curiosity where she looking at (Modigliani?) Long and curved neck leads to the face of a woman (more attention on face) 66cm high – which is not much difference in scale Direction of eyes are not fixed / eyes are emotionless & blank Mouth is opened (fish-like) More volume to face because this is the mask not the painting. There is a shadow set on the mask (3D effect) FORMAL ELEMENTS African MaskPortrait of a woman

Long face / nose / neck Eye brow shape (drawing arc) Narrow face Small mouth / lip Short and sharp chin No cheek bone visible Not much expression on the face Enlarged human face Represent someone (ancestral mask & portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne) SIMILARITIES

Eye visible Multi colored (warm tone / simple coloring) Long brownish hair visible (warm) Mouth closed (faint smile) Painted (oil on canvas) Influenced by African masks Black lines visible as an outline Eye not visible Single colored (natural medium) No hair visible Mouth opened (fish-like) Carved (wood) Traditional meaning / symbol / sacred Used in ceremony or while hunting DIFFERENCES African MaskPortrait of woman

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