We read with interest the paper by Newby at al., published recently in MDCP, “A History of Dystonia: Ancient to Modern,” about Modigliani's “Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne in a Large Hat.”1 In fact, we had previously suggested that this painting showed an example of a sensory trick for cervical dystonia (Supporting Figure S1).2 Now, here we share further evidence to confirm that this lady, common‐law wife, and muse of the painter indeed had cervical dystonia.
In several Modigliani's paintings, Jeanne shows unequivocal signs of cervical dystonia at rest (Supporting Figure S2), with two typical sensory tricks: either touching her chin with a finger (Supporting Figure S1) or with her arm around her neck (Supporting Figure S3). That she had clear cervical dystonia is evident on reviewing Jeanne's photographs which we present here (Figure 1; Supporting Figure S4), in which signs of cervical dystonia (a lateral shift, with right laterocollis and left torticaput) can be easily appreciated. Modigliani possessed a masterful ability to capture the essence of his models. Those who posed for him said that it was as if they were laid bare to the soul. He observed and described reality precisely as shown in these paintings.3, 4 The main point is that the abnormal postures that Modigliani described in his painting were an actual depiction of reality (not fashion) and that the photographs shown here confirm this fact. He was depicting real cervical dystonia in his model.
Figure 1.
Photograph of Jeanne Hebuterne which evident signs of cervical dystonia (a lateral shift, with right laterocollis and left torticaput).
Author Roles
1. Research Project: A. Conception, B. Organization, C. Execution; 2. Statistical Analysis: A. Design, B. Execution, C. Review and Critique; 3. Manuscript Preparation: A. Writing the First Draft, B. Review and Critique.
J.C.M.C.: 3A, 3B
A.A.C.: 3A, 3B
P.J.G.R.: 3A, 3B
Disclosures
Ethical Compliance Statement: The authors confirm that this manuscript adheres to the Journal's ethics policy. The authors confirm that the approval of an institutional review board was not required for this work. We confirm that we have read the Journal's position on issues involved in ethical publication and affirm that this work is consistent with those guidelines.
Funding Sources and Conflict of Interest: The authors did not have funding sources or conflict of interest related to this paper.
Financial Disclosures for the previous 12 months: JCMC: speaking honoraria from Allergan, AbbVie, Bial, Italfarmaco, Merz, TEVA, and Zambon; travel grants from AbbVie, Bial, TEVA, and Zambon; research grants from Allergan, AbbVie and Merz; advisory board from Bial, Merz, and Zambon. AAC: speaking honoraria from AbbVie, Bial, and Zambon; travel grants from Zambon. PJGR: speaking honoraria from Allergan, AbbVie, Bial, Italfarmaco, TEVA, and Zambon; research grants from Allergan and UCB; travel grants from Bial, TEVA, and Zambon; advisory board from Bial, Italfarmaco, and Zambon.
Supporting information
Supporting information may be found in the online version of this article.
Figure S1. Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne in a large hat (1919). Cervical dystonia with a sensory trick 1919
Figure S2. Jeanne Hebuterne with hat and necklace (1919)
Figure S3. Modigliani Portrait of Jeane Hebuterne, Left Arm behind Head (1919). Well‐known sensory trick
Figure S4. Photograph of Jeane Hebuterne which evident signs of cervical dystonia.
Acknowledgments
We confirm that we have obtained the necessary permissions to republish the figures of this paper. All figures are within the public domain.
Relevant disclosures and conflicts of interest are listed at the end of this article.
References
- 1. Newby RE, Thorpe DE, Kempster PA, Alty JE. A History of dystonia: ancient to modern. Mov Disord Clin Pract 2017;4:478–485. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
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Associated Data
This section collects any data citations, data availability statements, or supplementary materials included in this article.
Supplementary Materials
Supporting information may be found in the online version of this article.
Figure S1. Portrait of Jeanne Hebuterne in a large hat (1919). Cervical dystonia with a sensory trick 1919
Figure S2. Jeanne Hebuterne with hat and necklace (1919)
Figure S3. Modigliani Portrait of Jeane Hebuterne, Left Arm behind Head (1919). Well‐known sensory trick
Figure S4. Photograph of Jeane Hebuterne which evident signs of cervical dystonia.