Art | April 22, 2026

Modigliani: The Pure Bohemian 

“Bohemia has nothing and lives from what it has. Hope is its religion, faith in itself its code, charity is all it has for a budget.” 

–Balzac 

 Rosalie, the proprietor of Chez Rosalie, a trattoria on the rue Campagne-Première, fed the stray cats and dogs that showed up at her doorstep. She also put out scraps for the rats that foraged through her trashcans. But hungry artists were her specialty. In her youth, she had been an artist’s model and maintained a soft spot for their struggles. For a few francs, she offered steaming bowls of spaghetti and a glass of wine. Sometimes she fed artists on credit or, if they were any good, in exchange for drawings. 

When Modigliani arrived in Paris in 1906, the twenty-two-year-old became a regular at Chez Rosalie. He must have heard rumors of the proprietress’s generosity before meeting her, and as a fellow Italian, he would certainly have been greeted fondly. It was mutual affection at first sight. Rosalie adored Modi, as he was called by his friends. Like many women who came into his orbit, she was mesmerized by his good looks: wide dark eyes, aquiline nose, chiseled bone structure, and long wavy hair. His stylish dress also impressed her; he wore a well-tailored brown corduroy suit with matching vest and open-collared shirt. (Picasso would later say that Modi was the only man in Paris who knew how to dress.) To further solidify her devotion, he recited to her in their native language long passages from Dante’s Inferno.