Young Woman of the People

Amedeo Modigliani

At the turn of the century, African Art began to be imported into Europe and by the mid 1910s, it was flooding Paris. So many of the era’s greatest artists, from Picasso to Cezanne, were inspired by the sculptural, ethereal faces of these masks, and each interpreted the aesthetic philosophy in a different way. Modigliani, a young Italian painter who was to die at the age of 35 with little commercial success, combined an inspiration from the masks with a deep understanding of the antiquity and Italian Renaissance paintings that he had studied as an adolescent. The resulting works are surreal and modern, elongated figures with his trademark almond faces seem to exist outside of time, the women painted become a bridge between centuries and continents. It was only five years before his death that the synthesis of his two founding influences reached its apex and created one of the most distinctive styles of portraiture. Modigliani’s paintings are piercing and uncanny, works of a strange nature that lure you in.

Monday 13th July

As the Moon moves through the constellation of Gemini, an airy and light-filled quality enters the day. In the garden, Gemini is often connected with flowers, pollination, and the more delicate, upward parts of the plant. Today, the Moon is also at perigee, meaning it is at its closest point to the Earth. In biodynamic practice, this can be felt as an intensification of the Moon’s influence. Gemini invites communication, lightness, and connection, while the perigee Moon reminds us that subtle rhythms can sometimes be felt more strongly in the life of the garden and in ourselves.