.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Amedeo Modigliani arrived in Paris, the center of the avantgarde, in 1906, convinced his future lay in the French capital. After living for a few months in a hotel in the eighth arrondissement, the young artist moved to Montmartre, the bohemian quartier famous for its cabarets, theatres, and artist denizens including Marcel Duchamp, Francis Picabia, and Pablo Picasso. Modigliani was sure that he, too, belonged among them.
Modigliani’s early years in Paris were marked by intense visual experimentation. He registered for classes at the Académie Colarossi, the art school attended by Paul Gauguin and Auguste Rodin, and set about visiting as many exhibitions and museums as he possibly could. In particular, he found himself drawn to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s brushwork and the otherworldly figures painted by Edvard Munch. More than anyone, however, it was Paul Cezanne’s oeuvre that captivated the young artist—Modigliani’s first sustained encounter with the Post-Impressionist was at his 1907 posthumous retrospective held at the Salon d’Automne, an event that proved to be a watershed moment for many avant-garde artists.
Painted circa 1908, Nu assis demonstrates the artist’s early evolution and daring approach to his subjects. Set against a dark ground, the nude model sits, hands crossed demurely in her lap, her posture perfectly straight. The thick, structured application of paint and the approach to volume resemble that of Cezanne’s late portraits. In its simplification of form, however, Nu assis also recalls works by Picasso, whose Les Demoiselles d’Avignon had caused an uproar in 1907; the two artists likely became acquainted when they were both residents at the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre.
Little is known about the model in the present painting. In June Rose’s biography on the artist she has been identified as Jeanne, a young woman who worked at a brothel. The composition of Nu assis is decidedly sculptural, a sense underscored by the dimensional forms that constitute the model’s face. Modigliani had always wished to be a sculptor and experimented with stone carving while in Carrara in the summer of 1902; shortly after completing Nu assis, he returned to the medium with a newfound determination. This interest in three dimensionality is evident in the present work: the volumetric forms of her body appear to be almost viewable in the round.
Modigliani worked with models directly in front of him, and he desired a rapport between artist and sitter. The overall composition of Nu assis is characteristically restrained, with little background detail and a subdued color scheme, drawing all focus to the sitter. The likeness is at once anonymous and highly distinctive. While the viewer knows nothing of this woman’s life or thoughts, her face is very much that of an individual, and maintaining such balance would become a hallmark of the artist’s later portraits. As Tamar Garb has observed, “The power of Modigliani’s portraits lies in their capacity to render the tensions between the generic and the specific…” (“Making and Masking: Modigliani and the Problematic of Portraiture” in Modigliani, Beyond the Myth, exh. cat., The Jewish Museum, New York, 2004, p. 53).
Nu assis was first owned by Paul Alexandre. As a young man, Alexandre developed a great love and understanding of modern art and was determined to get to know the artists of his age. In 1907 he began renting a pavilion at 7 rue du Delta that became a meeting place for artists; Modigliani soon found his way there and the two quickly became inseparable. Alexandre wrote later that “[Modigliani] already had a deep-rooted confidence in his own worth. He knew that he was an innovator rather than a follower, but he had not yet received a single commission” (quoted in M. Secrest, Modigliani: A Life, New York, 2011, p. 114). Alexandre facilitated some of Modigliani’s earliest portrait sittings including Jean-Baptiste Alexandre avec un crucifix (Ceroni, no. 12; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen) and L’Amazon (Ceroni, no. 21; Private collection). Modigliani drew and painted Alexandre on several occasions. The latter strongly championed the artist and eventually amassed a large collection of his works.
Modigliani’s early years in Paris were marked by intense visual experimentation. He registered for classes at the Académie Colarossi, the art school attended by Paul Gauguin and Auguste Rodin, and set about visiting as many exhibitions and museums as he possibly could. In particular, he found himself drawn to Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s brushwork and the otherworldly figures painted by Edvard Munch. More than anyone, however, it was Paul Cezanne’s oeuvre that captivated the young artist—Modigliani’s first sustained encounter with the Post-Impressionist was at his 1907 posthumous retrospective held at the Salon d’Automne, an event that proved to be a watershed moment for many avant-garde artists.
Painted circa 1908, Nu assis demonstrates the artist’s early evolution and daring approach to his subjects. Set against a dark ground, the nude model sits, hands crossed demurely in her lap, her posture perfectly straight. The thick, structured application of paint and the approach to volume resemble that of Cezanne’s late portraits. In its simplification of form, however, Nu assis also recalls works by Picasso, whose Les Demoiselles d’Avignon had caused an uproar in 1907; the two artists likely became acquainted when they were both residents at the Bateau-Lavoir in Montmartre.
Little is known about the model in the present painting. In June Rose’s biography on the artist she has been identified as Jeanne, a young woman who worked at a brothel. The composition of Nu assis is decidedly sculptural, a sense underscored by the dimensional forms that constitute the model’s face. Modigliani had always wished to be a sculptor and experimented with stone carving while in Carrara in the summer of 1902; shortly after completing Nu assis, he returned to the medium with a newfound determination. This interest in three dimensionality is evident in the present work: the volumetric forms of her body appear to be almost viewable in the round.
Modigliani worked with models directly in front of him, and he desired a rapport between artist and sitter. The overall composition of Nu assis is characteristically restrained, with little background detail and a subdued color scheme, drawing all focus to the sitter. The likeness is at once anonymous and highly distinctive. While the viewer knows nothing of this woman’s life or thoughts, her face is very much that of an individual, and maintaining such balance would become a hallmark of the artist’s later portraits. As Tamar Garb has observed, “The power of Modigliani’s portraits lies in their capacity to render the tensions between the generic and the specific…” (“Making and Masking: Modigliani and the Problematic of Portraiture” in Modigliani, Beyond the Myth, exh. cat., The Jewish Museum, New York, 2004, p. 53).
Nu assis was first owned by Paul Alexandre. As a young man, Alexandre developed a great love and understanding of modern art and was determined to get to know the artists of his age. In 1907 he began renting a pavilion at 7 rue du Delta that became a meeting place for artists; Modigliani soon found his way there and the two quickly became inseparable. Alexandre wrote later that “[Modigliani] already had a deep-rooted confidence in his own worth. He knew that he was an innovator rather than a follower, but he had not yet received a single commission” (quoted in M. Secrest, Modigliani: A Life, New York, 2011, p. 114). Alexandre facilitated some of Modigliani’s earliest portrait sittings including Jean-Baptiste Alexandre avec un crucifix (Ceroni, no. 12; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen) and L’Amazon (Ceroni, no. 21; Private collection). Modigliani drew and painted Alexandre on several occasions. The latter strongly championed the artist and eventually amassed a large collection of his works.