The Bohemian Myth

Modigliani lived the bohemian artist's life to its destructive end. He arrived in Paris in 1906, handsome and charismatic, and quickly became a fixture of Montparnasse café culture. His friendships with Picasso, Soutine, and Diego Rivera placed him at the center of modern art's most legendary social circle.

Recognition in Montparnasse came, but neither real fame nor money did in his lifetime — Modigliani stayed too poor to buy canvases. He painted on whatever was at hand, sometimes cardboard, door panels, or scraps of wood. His poverty was legendary even among the broke artists of Montparnasse, and the wider fame that made his work coveted only arrived after his death.