Amedeo Modigliani, Jeanne Hebuterne, 1918

When one mentions an artist's name, his most popular work instantly pops into my head. Sargent? Madame X. Picasso? Guernica. Van Gogh? Starry Night. However some artists have more than one claim to fame. Or perhaps, the artist is one I dislike, and thus, my mind goes blank and my face fills with disdain. Modigliani, in my opinion, fell into the former category, until I took a closer look at the artist himself.

As a poor, Jewish, tuberculosis-ridden guy from Italy, Modigliani's life began as an uphill battle. After failing to hit it big in Paris, Modigliani turned to drugs and alcohol. He went from painting perfectly proportioned portraits to two-dimensional oval-faced ones, and as his absinthe consumption increased, so did the amount of light in his paintings. After doling out nearly all of his pale-faced portraits to his numerous bedmates, Modigliani died from tuberculosis without fame, fortune, or appreciation from the artistic community. But his life wasn't completely worthless, for not every young artist gets the opportunity to share drinks with Picasso or avoid fighting in the first World War.

Though his nudes sparked the most controversy, I choose not to remember Modigliani as a rebel, and I instead think of his most delicate painting of his final lover, Jeanne Hebuterne. This was one of the few portraits of his girlfriends that he didn't give away, and I feel it best displays Modigliani's artistic flair. The white, oval face and light surroundings are especially characteristic of his final years, and her simple hair and clothing allow Jeanne's beauty to speak for itself. Though plain, Modigliani's portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne, in my opinion, deserves the most admiration of any of his works.