Late at night Modigliani could become melancholy, but at other times he clowned and laughed. Lately he had mentioned returning to Italy for some sunshine. He had one last glorious night out with Utrillo. Utrillo, who had just escaped from his gloomy room with its barred windows at the lunatic asylum, burst into Rosalie’s and the two men hugged each other. Modi cadged a free meal for Utrillo from his landlord and then brought Utrillo back to his studio. He had a plan. Maurice painted two street scenes of Montmartre from memory and Modigliani took them over to sell to Zborowski. With the money the two went on a last bid for freedom. What money they did not drink up was folded into paper airplanes and sent gliding into the trees along the Boulevard Raspail. They stomped the streets until they dropped with exhaustion.
- June Rose, Modigliani: The Pure Bohemian
Utrillo, Benches at Montmagny, 1906
No comments:
Post a Comment