Modigliani Movie

Picasso and Modigliani seemed to come from opposite sides of the tracks. Modigliani would be the poor one and Picasso would be the rich one. This is the type of lifestyle and personality they portrayed in the movie. Modigliani was very flamboyant and spontaneous, and he acted as if he didn't have anything to loose, and in the movie he didn't because he was poor. Sometimes when people don't have any money or possessions to show off, they use their personality instead. That's why Modigliani comes in and jumps on the table, and dances around, in order to be the center of attention. Most people like these type of people, especially when they are in a group setting. Modigliani becomes the life of the party. He is like entertainment. Some people don't like this because the attention is being taken away from them. I don't think Picasso liked Modigliani stealing his thunder. Picasso felt like he was the best artist, and even though he wasn't very entertaining, he wanted all the reverence of everyone. Picasso was the introvert, who thought in his head, and Modigliani was the extrovert who usually had to speak to make a point. It can be hard for these type of people to get along sometimes because they act differently, and they think that people are supposed to think like they think. Then you add the fact that Modigliani behaves like a bum and Picasso behaves more like a higher class citizen, and you can get a real clash of personalities. Modigliani drank liquor, smoked, and did drugs to an extent that it seemed like he didn't even value his own life. Picasso on the other hand felt like his signature was so valuable that he wouldn't even sign his sketch for the bar owner because it would have made the sketch worth too much. Modigliani dressed like a peasant, while Picasso wore nice clothes and carried himself respectably. They had two different outlooks on life, and I think that this led to a lot of tension.

When you get two people who are opposites together, if they are interested in the same things, many times they can still find that necessary common ground. I think that they both respected each other as artists and this developed some warm feelings amongst them. They even had the same hero, Renoir.

I think that Picasso had an agenda for insulting Modigliani. I don't think that it was just out of spite that he painted Jeanne or that he painted over Modigliani's painting. I don't think he really cared that he was insulting Modigliani but I think the reason behind it was greater. I think that Picasso was trying to provoke him into becoming a more serious painter. I think that he was trying to provide him with some fire in order to give him a reason to really try hard. At the same time it was a little bit of pay back, and trying to flaunt superiority; but that was just added benefit. In the end, I think that Picasso was just using friendly rivalry because he wanted Modigliani to do his best. He didn't want to see Modigliani's talent wasted. So he had his best interest at heart. Or maybe he just wanted Modigliani to do his best so that he could beat him at his best in the competition, and make himself feel that much better. Who knows?