"Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" is the fourth

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

released by the American

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s ...

band Book of Love. The song was included on the band's eponymous debut album '' Book of Love'' in 1986. "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)", was released as a single in early 1987, making it the fourth and final single release from the album. The B-side to the single is a remixed version of "Modigliani" by Omar Santana, titled "Mo'dub'iani".

Background

"Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" is an ode to Italian painter

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (; ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern art, modern style characterized by a surre ...

. The track was penned by Jade Lee, Susan Ottaviano, and Ted Ottaviano (not related despite having the same unusual last name), who had all been art school students and were inspired by the Italian painter's paintings and history. The cover of the single featured one of Modigliani's famous paintings of his mistress

Jeanne Hébuterne Jeanne Hébuterne (; 6 April 1898 – 26 January 1920) was a French painter and art model best known as the frequent subject and Common-law marriage, common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani. She died by suicide two days after Modigliani ...

, along with Ted's short bio: "Born in Livorno Italy on July 12, 1884,

received little recognition for his paintings and sculpture during his lifetime. He had only a single one-man show, which instead of success brought scandal because of several nude paintings. He died of

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

at the age of 36. The day after his death, his mistress Jeanne Hébuterne, pregnant with his child, leaped from a fifth story window, killing both herself and the child. Within two years ironically, Modigliani's work began to be recognized and his reputation was soon established." The last line of the song's lyrics are in Italian: "Amedeo Amedeo, gli occhi tuoi, mi anno fatto innamorare", which roughly translates to "Amadeo Amadeo, I fell in love with you when I saw your eyes."

Artwork

For the back sleeve of the 12-inch single, Susan Ottaviano made drawings of each member of the band in the style of Modigliani. Similar large portrait drawings of the band were later used as large stage props behind the band on their Lullaby Tour in 1989.

Reception

The song was a dance club hit, peaking at No. 17 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot Dance Club Play The Dance Club Songs (also known as National Disco Action, Hot Dance/Disco Club Play, and Hot Dance Club Play) was a chart published weekly between 1976 and 2020 by ''Billboard'' magazine. It used club disc jockeys set lists to determine the mos ...

chart, becoming as popular as New Order and

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

singles in clubs at its peak.

In popular culture

The four-minute "Requiem Mass" remixed version of "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" was featured in an episode of ''

Miami Vice ''Miami Vice'' is an American crime drama television series created by Anthony Yerkovich and produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series stars Don Johnson as James "Sonny" Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo Tubbs, Ricardo "Rico" Tub ...

'' on November 6, 1987,Tivnan, Edward (writer) & Eliasberg, Jan (director). "God's Work". ''

'',

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. Episode 74,

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album), 2014 * ''2econd Season'', an album ...

. Aired on November 6, 1987. and both the original single and "Requiem Mass" remix were used in the 1987 film ''

Planes, Trains and Automobiles ''Planes, Trains and Automobiles'' is a 1987 American road trip comedy film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes and starring Steve Martin and John Candy. It tells the story of Neal Page, an uptight marketing executive, and Del Griff ...

''..

Track listings

1987 7-inch single

Side A:
"Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" – 3:53 Side B:
"Mo'dub'iani" – 5:09

1987 12-inch maxi-single

Side A: #"Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" (I Dream of Jeanne Mix) – 7:42 #"Modigliani" (Requiem Mass) – 4:01 Side B: #"Mo'dub'iani" – 5:09 #"Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" (7-inch Re-mix) – 3:53

Personnel

;Book of Love *Jade Lee – keyboards, percussion *Susan Ottaviano – lead vocals *Ted Ottaviano – keyboards, backing vocals *Lauren Roselli – keyboards ;Technical *Ted Ottaviano – re-mix, additional production, cover short bio on Modigliani *Steve Peck – engineer *Omar Santana – editing ("Mo'dub'iani") *Herb Powers – mastering *Ivan Ivan – producer *

Nick Egan Nick Egan (born 4 July 1957 in London, England) is a British visual design artist and director of music videos, commercials and film. He graduated from the Watford College of Art and Design with a DGA in 1976.

– design *Susan Ottaviano – drawings of Book of Love *

– cover portrait of

Charts

Official versions

" * " denotes that version is available as digital download

References

External links

Popdose.com's White Label Friday: Book of Love, "Modigliani (Lost in Your Eyes)" by David Medsker
{{authority control 1986 songs 1987 singles Book of Love (band) songs Amedeo Modigliani Cultural depictions of Italian people Songs about painters Sire Records singles