Podcast Summary: SER Historia – Cronovisor | Modigliani. El hombre que pintaba almas alargadas

Date: January 4, 2026
Host: Cadena SER
Participants: Host, Jesús Callejo (crononauta & historian), Voice Actor (readings of letters and documentary excerpts)

Overview of the Episode

This episode of "SER Historia, Cronovisor" is a dynamic and passionate exploration of the life and work of Amedeo Modigliani, the legendary Italian painter and sculptor famed for his haunting, elongated portraits and tragic bohemian life in early 20th-century Paris. Through historical context, biographical details, primary sources (letters), and commentary, host Jesús Callejo and his colleague reconstruct not only Modigliani's revolutionary art, but also the personal and cultural turmoil that shaped his brief, tumultuous existence.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction to Modigliani’s Life and Style

• Singular & Transgressive Style:
  Modigliani is introduced as an iconoclast whose unique artistic language—marked by elongated figures and expressionless, pupil-less eyes—initially evoked fear or discomfort but is now revered.

  • “Uno de los pintores reformistas más transgresores y con un estilo de lenguaje artístico más singular y al mismo tiempo más tenebroso … esas figuras sin pupilas” (Host, 00:52)

• Symbol of Bohemian, ‘Cursed’ Genius:
  Callejo highlights Modigliani not just as an artist, but as a symbol of the maldito (cursed) artist in Paris, whose love life and tragic fate amplified his legend.

• Influence Extending Beyond Art:
  Modigliani’s legacy even permeates medicine, with “síndrome de Modigliani” describing a rare physical trait inspired by his stylized portraits (elongated, swan-like necks) (Jesús Callejo, 02:07).

2. Paris, 1917: The Scandalous Solo Exhibition

[03:52 – 08:05]

• Setting the Scene – The Cronovisor ‘Time Travel’ to 1917:
  Callejo and the host “visit” Modigliani’s groundbreaking solo exhibition at the Galerie Berthe Weill, which becomes infamous when police shut it down for indecency: not because of nudity per se (which was common in Parisian art), but because Modigliani depicted female pubic hair—then still taboo.

  • “Modigliani pintaba el vello púbico y eso era algo inédito en esa pintura europea de la época.” (Jesús Callejo, 05:58)

• Comparison to Other Scandals:
  Callejo references earlier controversies—Goya’s Maja desnuda and Courbet’s El origen del mundo—to situate Modigliani’s “truthfulness” within a tradition of artistic provocation.

• Struggle & Bohemian Life in Paris:
  Modigliani is shown as both part of and an outsider to the Parisian avant-garde—a contemporary of Picasso, Diego Rivera, Utrillo, Cezanne, and others—struggling with dire poverty, alcoholism, and tuberculosis.

• Cultivated Elegance:
  Despite poverty, Modigliani’s natural elegance and seductiveness (even admired by Picasso, who called him a “príncipe humilde”) are dwelled upon.

  • “Vestía de maravilla, un seductor muy educado y ... una elegancia natural que incluso el propio Picasso ... decía que era el único hombre que sabía vestir.” (Jesús Callejo, 08:05)

3. Modigliani’s Family, Early Life & Relationship with His Mother

[10:04 – 12:35]

• The Crucial Role of His Mother:
  Via a reading of a moving letter to his mother (1908), the podcast reveals Modigliani’s sincerity about his penurious and isolated life in Paris but also his maturing artistry.

  • Letter (Excerpt, read at 11:10):
    “Me veo obligado a vivir en un continuo estado de penuria económica que si bien me resulta indiferente, es fatigoso y no me permite esa serenidad tan necesaria para trabajar.”
    (“I am forced to live in a continuous state of economic hardship which, though I try to be indifferent to it, is wearying and does not allow the serenity so necessary for my work.”)

• Mother’s Influence:
  Callejo explains how Modigliani’s mother recognized his talent early and facilitated his artistic studies, which included traditional nude drawing and later immersion into the bohemian lifestyle and drugs of Venice.

• Romantic Liaisons & Family Tragedies:
  The episode details Modigliani’s complex romantic life, progeny, and the tragic fate of his beloved Jeanne Hébuterne, who would become central to his mythos.

4. Modigliani’s Artistic Philosophy

[17:08 – 19:25]

• Revelatory Letters:
  A second letter (1909, to Oscar Giglia) reveals his self-image as “an instrument of powerful forces” and expresses a bohemian defiance of bourgeois misunderstanding.

  • Letter (Excerpt, read at 17:44):
    “Yo mismo soy el instrumento de fuerzas poderosas. Que nacen y mueren en mí.”
    (“I myself am the instrument of powerful forces that are born and die within me.”)

• Self-mythology – "Modi"/"Maudit":
  Modigliani’s nickname “Modi” echoed “maudit” (cursed) in French, a duality he embraced, amplifying his tragic persona.

• Art as Unique Language:
  Callejo and the host agree that Modigliani created not only a unique visual style (not fully fitting cubism, surrealism, or naturalism) but also a philosophy—a sense of existential tragedy and misunderstood genius.

• The Eyes as Expression:
  Modigliani famously only painted the eyes of subjects he felt he truly knew; Jeanne Hébuterne, painted over 20 times, is a key example (Jesús Callejo, 22:43).

• Influences:
  Modigliani drew on diverse sources: classical nudes, African masks, and the dark poetry of Dante and the Comte de Lautréamont (Los cantos de Maldoror).

5. Modigliani’s Later Years, Death, and Posthumous Fame

[24:30 – 32:18]

• Documentary Excerpt:
  “El indomable Modigliani” evokes Modigliani’s legend:
  “Tenía una elegancia natural, como pocas personas tienen. ... En su obra hay algo arcaico y algo ultramoderno.”
  (“He had a natural elegance… In his work there is something archaic and something ultramodern.”)(24:44–25:19)

• The Tragic End:
  Modigliani died of tubercular meningitis, aged 35 and destitute (Jesús Callejo, 26:50). The day after, his pregnant lover Jeanne Hébuterne, 21, committed suicide. This cemented his legend as an artist “maldito”, and catalyzed the posthumous skyrocketing value of his works:

  • Gravesite and Epitaphs:
    Callejo narrates how their bodies were ultimately buried together, epitomized in dual epitaphs:
    • “La muerte lo alcanzó cuando llegó a la fama.”
      (“Death found him as he reached fame.”)
    • “Compañera devota hasta el sacrificio extremo.”
      (“Devoted companion until the ultimate sacrifice.”) (31:30)

• Posthumous Recognition:
  Modigliani only gained real notoriety and fortune after his death—a “sad irony” often echoed in the lives of cursed artists.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the paradox of recognition:
  “...Modigliani empieza a ser famoso tras fallecer. Lo cual no deja de ser una triste burla del destino.”
  (“Modigliani only begins to be famous after dying. Which is nothing but a sad mockery of fate.”) (Jesús Callejo, 15:47)

• On the meaning behind the omission of eyes:
  “Los ojos son el espejo del alma, solo pintaba a los ojos a aquellas personas que consideraba que conocía con profundidad.”
  (“The eyes are the mirror of the soul—he only painted the eyes of those he believed he truly knew.”) (Jesús Callejo, 22:43)

• On Modigliani’s self-respect in the face of destitution:
  “...tenía también un gran respeto hacia sí mismo. No le respetaban sus coetáneos, pero él se respetaba muchísimo.”
  (“… he had a great respect for himself. His contemporaries didn’t respect him, but he respected himself immensely.”) (Jesús Callejo, 27:06)

• Modigliani’s philosophy of the “malditismo”:
  “Yo soy Modi, el príncipe de Livorno.”
  (“I am Modi, the prince of Livorno.”) (Jesús Callejo, 21:40)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introduction to Modigliani & his style: [00:52–03:27]
• Scandalous 1917 Paris exhibition: [03:52–08:05]
• Bohemian life & struggles: [08:05–10:04]
• Letter to mother; family background: [11:10–12:21]
• Mother’s influence, romantic entanglements: [12:35–15:17]
• Biographical film recommendation (“Modigliani: Tres días en Montparnasse”): [15:17]
• Second letter revealing philosophy: [17:44–18:57]
• Discussion of ‘Modi’ as both nickname and fate: [19:25–22:43]
• On the eyes in portraits & Jeanne Hébuterne: [22:43–24:30]
• Documentary excerpt, mythology, death, and posthumous fame: [24:30–32:18]
• Summary & closing thoughts: [32:18–33:14]

Additional Resources/References Cited

• Film: "Modigliani: Tres días en Montparnasse" (directed by Johnny Depp, 2024)
• Documental: "El indomable Modigliani"
• Books:
  • Biografía “Modigliani, el hombre y el mito” by Jeanne Modigliani (his daughter)
  • “Los cantos de Maldoror” by Comte de Lautréamont

Conclusion

This episode serves not only as a compelling chronicle of Modigliani's artistic innovations and his place in history, but also as a humanizing portrait—recalling his tragic loves, his struggles with poverty and illness, the contempt and admiration of his contemporaries, and his own myth-making tendencies. Numerous firsthand letters deepen the story, while comparisons with other artists and broader cultural references situate Modigliani firmly within—and in defiance of—his time. The episode closes with a sense of reverence for his art and a touch of hope that his "malditismo" remains only in legend, while the magic endures.