Lot Essay
Paul Guillaume (fig. 1) was the most significant collector and dealer of African art in Paris at the beginning of the twentieth century. He began dealing in African sculpture in 1911; Apollinaire was one of his first clients and the two men quickly became close friends. In 1913, Guillaume helped to form the Société des Mélanophiles, and in 1914 he supplied the objects for one of the first international exhibitions of African art, held at Alfred Steiglitz's gallery at 291 Fifth Avenue in New York. Guillaume also dealt in modern art: Derain, Picabia and de Chirico were among the artists he represented, and he served as Albert Barnes's agent in Paris. Furthermore, Guillaume's gallery at 108 Faubourg Saint-Honoré was one of the major centers of artistic and literary life in Paris during World War I. An indication of its importance is the "evening of Poetry and Music" which Guillaume sponsored on November 13, 1917: Satie performed the score of Parade on the piano, Cocteau and Apollinaire spoke, and a young actress recited the poetry of André Breton.
In 1915, the poet Max Jacob introduced Modigliani to Guillaume, who immediately began to collect and deal in works by the artist. Paul Guillaume later wrote about Modigliani:
In 1915 he left Montparnasse to set up a studio that I rented for him at 13 rue Ravignon. It was a historic wooden building that had been witness to difficult, and heroic moments in the lives of Picasso, Max Jacob, the douanier Rousseau, and many painters who are today more or less famous. From then on he gave up sculpture, drew less frequently and began to paint--to paint as he lived, sentimentally, violently, erratically, wastefully. I use this last word advisedly because it characterizes accurately Modigliani's extraordinary life. The painter was in fact a poet. He loved and judged poetry not with the cold partiality of a university professor, but with a spirit mysteriously equipped to appreciate all that was sensitive and adventurous. (quoted in W. Schmalenbach, Modigliani, Munich, 1990, p. 194)
Modigliani painted four portraits of Guillaume. In all these, the artist accentuated the geometric shape of Guillaume's face, making it look something like a mask from the Dan or Fang tribes. This affinity is no accident: Modigliani shared Guillaume's interest in African art, and in a show held in November and December of 1916, Guillaume exhibited fourteen canvases by Modigliani together with twenty-five African sculptures.
The artist did not date the present work, but a closely associated drawing by Modigliani of Guillaume, now in The Museum of Modern Art, New York, is dated 1916.
(no fig. #) Paul Guillaume in Modigliani's studio, 1915
In 1915, the poet Max Jacob introduced Modigliani to Guillaume, who immediately began to collect and deal in works by the artist. Paul Guillaume later wrote about Modigliani:
In 1915 he left Montparnasse to set up a studio that I rented for him at 13 rue Ravignon. It was a historic wooden building that had been witness to difficult, and heroic moments in the lives of Picasso, Max Jacob, the douanier Rousseau, and many painters who are today more or less famous. From then on he gave up sculpture, drew less frequently and began to paint--to paint as he lived, sentimentally, violently, erratically, wastefully. I use this last word advisedly because it characterizes accurately Modigliani's extraordinary life. The painter was in fact a poet. He loved and judged poetry not with the cold partiality of a university professor, but with a spirit mysteriously equipped to appreciate all that was sensitive and adventurous. (quoted in W. Schmalenbach, Modigliani, Munich, 1990, p. 194)
Modigliani painted four portraits of Guillaume. In all these, the artist accentuated the geometric shape of Guillaume's face, making it look something like a mask from the Dan or Fang tribes. This affinity is no accident: Modigliani shared Guillaume's interest in African art, and in a show held in November and December of 1916, Guillaume exhibited fourteen canvases by Modigliani together with twenty-five African sculptures.
The artist did not date the present work, but a closely associated drawing by Modigliani of Guillaume, now in The Museum of Modern Art, New York, is dated 1916.
(no fig. #) Paul Guillaume in Modigliani's studio, 1915