Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan

Portrait of Lunia Czechowska with a Fan was completed in 1919 in Paris, France, by Amedeo Modigliani.

It's an oil on canvas portrait done in the style of Expressionism, and measures 65 x 100 cm. It is currently located in the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, also in Paris, France.

Amedeo Modigliani was born in Italy, 1844, to Jewish parents Flaminio Modigliani and Eugenia Garsin. Modigliani, Sr, was a money-lender and did well at first. Before long, however, the business went bankrupt and the family was forced to live in abject poverty. There's a story from that time of how his birth saved the family, as a bed with a woman and newborn child could not be evicted.

Despite having a difficult childhood, plagued by bad health at every turn, Modigliani used the solitary time to work on art, before even beginning formal training. His mother, having agreed while he was ill, took him to Florence to view art at the Palazzo Pitti and the Uffizi. She also arranged for him to apprentice under Guglielmo Micheli in Livorno.

Although he may not always be understood, many consider him to be one of the best known of the twelfth-century artists. The collection of his many works, such as portraits, erotic nudes, drawings of female caryatids and primitive sculptures have been studied and appreciated for decades.

In time, he worked less in sculptures and more in portraits, mostly done of women. While there are certain parallels, each woman is individually able to be distinguished on their own merits. Typical similarities in Modigliani's portraits are heads that are more oval than round, narrow eyes resembling the blank eyes of other, older statues, and noses that are long and spread out, recalling faces from African statues.

Modigliani was no stranger to alcohol, drugs and sex. As he created, his darkness would continue to dog his steps forever. When neighbours realised that he had not been seen in a few days, they checked on him and his wife. There they found his wife pregnant, being held down by her delirious husband. A doctor was called but there was nought to do. He died January 24, 1920. He was 35 years old.