Amedeo Modigliani was an Italian Jewish painter and sculptor who became the quintessential 'starving artist' of early 20th-century Paris. His style is instantly recognizable for its elongated faces, swan-like necks, and almond-shaped eyes that often lack pupils. This elongation was influenced by African and Oceanic art, which he studied at the Trocadéro Museum. Modigliani lived a life of extreme poverty and substance abuse, often trading sketches for meals in Montparnasse cafes. He died of tubercular meningitis at the age of 35. Tragically, his young, pregnant common-law wife, Jeanne Hébuterne, took her own life the very next day. While he sold almost nothing during his lifetime, today his paintings are among the most expensive ever sold, with 'Nu couché' fetching over $170 million at auction. His work remains a bridge between traditional portraiture and the abstraction of the modern era.