Modersohn-Becker Vmo-dor-.zon-'be-korX, Paula orig. Paula Becker (b. Feb. 8, 1876, Dresden,
Ger.—d. Nov. 30,1907, Worpswede)
German painter. After studying art in London and Paris, she became one of the first artists to introduce French Post-Impressionism into German art.
While her early work is meticulously naturalistic, her later paintings, such as Self-Portrait with a Camellia (1907), combine a lyrical naturalism with the broad areas of simplified colour characteristic of Paul Gauguin and Paul Cezanne. Since her painting is more concerned with the expres¬ sion of her inner feelings than with the accurate portrayal of reality, she is frequently called an Expressionist.
She died at 31 while giving birth to her first child.
Modesto City (pop., 2000:
188,856), central California, U.S., east of San Francisco. Founded in 1870 by the Central Pacific Railway, it was called Modesto (Spanish:
“modest”) when W.C. Ralston, a rail¬ way director, modestly declined to have the community named in his honour. It was incorporated as a city in 1884. It is a shipping centre for the surrounding agricultural region that includes fruit, nut orchards, and win¬ eries.
Modigliani X.mo-del-'ya-neX, Amedeo (b. July 12, 1884,
Livorno, Italy—d. Jan. 24, 1920, Paris, France) Italian painter and sculptor. After studying art in Italy, he settled in Paris (1906), where he exhibited several paintings at the Salon des Independants in 1908. Fol¬ lowing the advice of Constantin Brancusi, he studied African sculp¬ ture and in 1912 exhibited 12 stone heads whose simplified and elon¬ gated forms reflect African influence. When he returned to painting, his portraits and nudes—characterized by asymmetry of composition, elon¬ gation of the figure, and a simplifica¬ tion of outline—reflected the style of his sculpture. By almost eliminating chiaroscuro, he achieved a sculptural quality by the strength of his contours and the richness of juxtaposed colours. In 1917 he began painting a series of female nudes that, with their warm, glowing colours and sensu¬ ous, rounded forms, are among his best works. His work reflects his life¬ long admiration for Italian Renais¬ sance masters, as well as the influence of Paul Cezanne and Bran¬ cusi. He died at 35 of tuberculosis.
Self-Portrait with a Camellia, oil on canvas by Paula Modersohn-Becker,
1907; in the Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany.
Self-portrait by Amedeo Modigliani, oil on canvas, 1919; in the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEU DE ARTE CONTEMPORANEA DA UNIVERSIDADE DE SAO PAULO, GIF OF MR FRANCISCO M. SOBRINHO AND MRS. YOLANDA PENTEADO; PHOTOGRAPH, GERSON ZANINI
Modigliani V.mo-del-'ya-neX,
Franco (b. June 18, 1918, Rome,
Italy—d. Sept. 25, 2003, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.) Italian-born U.S.
economist. He fled fascist Italy for the U.S. in 1939 and earned a doc¬ torate from the New School for Social Research in 1944. He taught at several universities, including the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1962-88; thereafter professor emeritus). His work on personal savings prompted him to formulate the life-cycle theory, which asserts that indi¬ viduals build up savings during their younger working lives for use dur¬ ing their own old age and not as an inheritance for their descendants. In order to analyze financial markets, he invented a technique for calculat¬ ing the value of a company’s expected future earnings that became a basic tool in corporate decision making and finance. He received the Nobel Prize in 1985.
Modoc Vmo-.dakV North American Plateau Indian people living mostly in Oregon, U.S. Their language is of Penutian language stock, and their traditional homeland is south of the Cascade Range in northern Califor¬ nia. Their economy was based on hunting and gathering, and they lived much like their closely related neighbours the Klamath. In 1864 the U.S. government forced the Modoc to live on Klamath lands, giving rise to the Modoc War of 1872-73. About 80 families retreated to the California Lava Beds but eventually surrendered and were removed to Oklahoma. Survivors were permitted to return to Oregon in 1909. Together with the Klamath and the Yahooskin band of Snake Indians, they form an entity known as the Klamath Tribes. About 500 people claimed sole Modoc descent in the 2000 U.S. census.
modulation In electronics, a technique for impressing information (voice, music, picture, or data) on a radio-frequency carrier wave by varying one or more characteristics of the wave in accordance with the signal. There are various forms of modulation, each designed to alter a particular characteristic of the carrier wave. The most commonly altered characteristics include amplitude (see AM), frequency (see FM), phase, pulse sequence, and pulse duration.
modulation In music, the transition from one mode or key to another. There are three principal methods of modulation in classical harmony: diatonic, in which a pivot chord is common to both keys; chromatic, in which the notes of the pivot chord are altered by a semitone; and enhar¬ monic, in which the notes of the pivot chord, while retaining their origi¬ nal tones, simply assume different names. Modulation may be transitory, as in the course of thematic development, or structural, contributing to the harmonic definition of the form.
module \'ma-jiil\ In architecture, a unit adopted to regulate the dimen¬ sions, proportions, or construction of the parts of a building. Modules based on the diameter of a column were used in Classical architecture. In Japanese architecture, room sizes were determined by combinations of standard rice mats called tatami. Both Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier used modular proportioning systems. Standardized modular design reduces waste, lowers costs, and offers ease of erection, flexible arrange¬ ment, and variety of use; however, most architects and producers of build¬ ing materials continue to use modules based on their own special needs and interests.
modulus, bulk See bulk modulus
modus ponens and modus tollens Vm6-d3s-'po-n9nz... , t6-bns\ (Latin: “method of affirming” and “method of denying”) In LOGIC, two types of inference that can be drawn using a hypothetical proposition— i.e., from a proposition of the form “If p, then q” (symbolically p z> q). Modus ponens refers to inferences of the form p d q; p, therefore q. Modus tollens refers to inferences of the form pDq; —iq, therefore, —.p. An example of modus tollens is the following: “If an angle is inscribed in a semicircle, then it is a right angle; this angle is not a right angle; therefore, this angle is not inscribed in a semicircle.”
Moeris Vmir-9s\, Lake Extinct lake, northern Egypt. It once occupied the Al-Fayyum depression, now the site of the much smaller Lake Qarun. Its waters began falling in Paleolithic times as a result of silt accumula¬ tion in the channel that flowed from the Nile River. During the Middle Kingdom (c. 2040-1786 bc), dredging renewed access to the Nile’s waters. Land-reclamation projects in the 3rd century bc drained the lake, opening 450 sq mi (1,200 sq km) of alluvial soil that was irrigated by canals. The region declined after the first two centuries of Roman rule.
Moero, Lac See Lake Mweru
Moesia Vme-sho\ Province of the Roman Empire, southeastern Europe. Bordered by the Danube River and the Black Sea, it was conquered by Rome
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Mogadishu ► Moi I 1275
(30-28 bc) and became a Roman province in ad 15. During the Dacian Wars (ad 85-89) it was divided into two provinces: Moesia Superior and Moesia Inferior. Despite barbarian invasions, it remained part of the East¬ ern Roman Empire until the 7th century, when it was occupied by Slavs and Bulgarians.