Modigliani at the RA

On entering the exhibition, I first noticed how packed it was and my heart sank. After paying the entrance fee and feeling the pinch, I felt I was now unable to get my moneys worth. But persevere I did. After leaving with mixed feelings about what I had seen and how that tallied with what I had been expecting, I returned for another look (on a friends membership card, therefore gratis).
As much as I am a complete fan of the wayward italian and his nudes in particular, I found there to be something afoot with the exhibition. I couldn’t quite work it out until I realised that this is probably the first exhibition I had been to that consisted purely of portraits. In fact there are full figure nudes, and some of his tribal influenced studies although these are tucked away like an afterthought. What I mean by portraits is that you walk in to the 3 rooms and are confronted by pictures that are looking out of the canvas. Each painting, some with the dead eyes he painted, some with the doll-like eyes with the impossibly thick eye-lashes. There is a stillness in the room that feels like time at a standstill. There was nothing to break the repetition of faces. Where were the drawings? or the landscapes? Did he do any?
I hate to sound like I didn’t get anything from the show, as this is not the case. I simply loved every piece in there, I just think the Academy could have presented better. In short, his reclining nudes, so simply executed and sumptuously painted are warm and sexy, inviting and calming. The actual portraits, similarly alluring, employing snatches of cubist influence both humourous and seriously engaging. A room full of a master artists figurative paintings, I could not be happier. Modigliani 10/10, Royal Academy nul points.