January 24 1920 – 4 Shevat 5680
Paris
Artist and sculptor Amadeo Clemente Modigliani died at age 35. Born in a small village in Tuscany to a middle-class Jewish family, Modigliani lost his father at an early age. His mother noticed his talent for art and sent him to study at the Free School of Nude Studies in Florence’s Academy of Fine Arts. Thus began a lifelong infatuation with drawing from life. At twenty-one Amadeo moved to Paris where he joined a circle of young artists, among them Chaim Soutine. He moved in with fellow artist Jeanne Hébuterne – offending her former lover, Pablo Picasso. A heavy drinker and drug addict, Modigliani died of tuberculosis when he was thirty-five. Hébuterne, who was pregnant, committed suicide a day or two later.