Jeanne Hébuterne: Not Only a Muse But an Artist in Her Own Right

Although Jeanne Hebuterne is often seen through the lens of her famous partner, Amedeo Modigliani and their tumultuous relationship, she was undoubtedly much more than that. Her paintings reveal a conscious artist, one who followed contemporary trends, and wasn’t afraid to experiment.

Jeanne Hébuterne committed suicide at the age of 21. Valerie Dieder Hess, Christie’s Paris specialist in impressionist and modern art, said, “there are only around 25 Hébuterne paintings in the world. She died so young, before she could establish any kind of reputation as a painter.”

Hébuterne displayed a gift for drawing already at a young age. She did numerous pencil drawings, watercolors, and gouaches, but she never signed them. Her parents allowed her to study at the Académie Colarossi in Paris and it was there that she met Amedeo Modigliani, 14 years her senior.

In the beginning, her style was closer to the Fauves and the Nabis group than to Modigliani. Certainly, he exerted influence on her, especially since they worked with the same models, but Jeanne Hébuterne was more attentive to the interiors in which she portrayed her sitters and was definitely more experimental than Modigliani. In addition to portraits, she painted landscapes, looking out to the courtyard from her studio window, as well as still lifes, which were both done in a style reminiscent of Bonnard and Vuillard.

Some of Hébuterne’s works are executed in exquisite Art Deco style, but as with drawings, none of them signed. She never exhibited nor ever had any contract with an art dealer (although Leopold Zborowski, the primary art dealer of Modigliani, was their friend). Did Modigliani appreciate Hébuterne’s talent? Hopefully, although he was known as an extremely ruthless critic.

There are very few known paintings by Hébuterne, hence they are a rarity at auctions. Her 1917 Self-Portrait in which Hébuterne is wearing a kimono that she had probably sewn herself, was sold for €247,500 on 18 October 2018 at Christie’s in Paris.