Modigliani was an Italian artist who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form. He died in Paris of tubercular meningitis, exacerbated by poverty, overwork and addiction to alcohol and narcotics. Modigliani was born into a Jewish family in Livorno, Italy which had long served as a refuge for those persecuted for their religion. Modigliani was first influenced by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, but around 1907 he became fascinated with the work of Paul Cezanne but soon he developed his own unique style, one that cannot be adequately categorized with other artists.