1918
Except otherwise stated, all results include the premium.
See also : Klimt Modigliani Monet Bassin aux nymphéas The Woman Orientalism Flowers Animals Bird
See also : Klimt Modigliani Monet Bassin aux nymphéas The Woman Orientalism Flowers Animals Bird
masterpiece
1918 Suprematist Composition by Malevich
MoMA
In 1915 the Suprematism of Kazimir Malevich shakes forever the theories of art. To be pure, art should excite feelings without referring to a message. It is neither figurative nor religious nor political.
Malevich developed a new grammar reduced to three basic filled shapes, simple enough to escape a semiotic interpretation : rectangle, oval and cross. The perfect rectangle and oval are the square and the circle.
The white on white of 1918 comes in the follow. The boldness of the White square on white background opens the way to modern abstract art calling for the variations in texture instead of form or color.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The Suprematism by Malevich begins in 1915 with the breakthrough exhibition in Petrograd. The white on white of 1918 comes in the follow.
The boldness of the White square on white background opens the way to modern abstract art calling for the variations in texture instead of form or color.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thought :
Quote
絵画の名前 @artstitle Jan 21
カジミール・マレーヴィチ （Kasimir Malevich、1879-1935） 『白の上の白』 （White on White）
Malevich developed a new grammar reduced to three basic filled shapes, simple enough to escape a semiotic interpretation : rectangle, oval and cross. The perfect rectangle and oval are the square and the circle.
The white on white of 1918 comes in the follow. The boldness of the White square on white background opens the way to modern abstract art calling for the variations in texture instead of form or color.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The Suprematism by Malevich begins in 1915 with the breakthrough exhibition in Petrograd. The white on white of 1918 comes in the follow.
The boldness of the White square on white background opens the way to modern abstract art calling for the variations in texture instead of form or color.
The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Grok thought :
Quote
絵画の名前 @artstitle Jan 21
カジミール・マレーヴィチ （Kasimir Malevich、1879-1935） 『白の上の白』 （White on White）
- Kazimir Malevich's 1918 "White on White" exemplifies Suprematism's push toward non-objective art, using faint tonal shifts and textures on a white canvas to evoke sensation without representation, created amid the Russian Revolution's upheaval.
- The post by @artstitle, a Japanese account spotlighting clever painting titles, pairs the artwork's image with its English and katakana names, emphasizing the title's deadpan irony in a series of daily highlights.
- Housed at MoMA, the piece marks a progression from Malevich's "Black Square," achieving a "zero form" that prioritizes material essence, as noted in art historical analyses, and garnered modest engagement with a cryptic reply hinting at personal tallying.
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1918 KLIMT
Dame mit Fächer
2023 SOLD for £ 85M by Sotheby's
The lifelong artistic quest of Gustav Klimt was the representation of the ideal woman, in conjunction with his project to revolutionize clothing and fabrics in partnership with his life companion the fashion designer Emilie Flöge.
The artist suddenly died on February 6, 1918 of a stroke and pneumonia brought by the Spanish flu, aged 55. Entering his studio, his friends found a masterpiece, just finished and still on the easel, his ultimate iteration of his preferred theme.
The lady with the fan is a beautiful woman in three quarter length with a sharply painted head in a richly decorated surrounding. Such a style follows early masterpieces such as Adele Bloch-Bauer I and The Kiss of 1907-1908, excepted that the application of the golden leaf is now superseded by motifs of the brightest colors : turquoise, yellow, pink, purple, orange.
The composition is now resolutely Orientalist, inspired by the Japanese prints and Asian robes which Klimt and Flöge eagerly collected. The new Austrian geisha wears a kimono that widely unveils the bare shoulder. The fan covers the breast. The yellow background is covered by a pattern of lotus blossoms of various shapes and colors plus a pheasant, a crane and a Chinese phoenix in flight, emblems of good fortune.
The woman is straight and confident, with a distant gaze ignoring the background and a small smile. She is charming with her curling hair around the ear. She is not identified : certainly not coming from the bourgeoisie of Vienna with her risqué kimono, this beauty was probably a professional model or a fashion mannequin.
This Dame mit Fächer, oil on canvas in the squared format 100 x 100 cm favored by the artist, was sold by Sotheby's for $ 11.6M (before fees ?) on May 11, 1994, lot 44, and for £ 85M on June 27, 2023, lot 125. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Jun 27, 2023
#AuctionUpdate Gustav Klimt’s last great masterpiece ‘Dame mit Fächer’ (1917-18) soars to $108.4m / £85.3m at #SothebysLondon, setting a new auction record for the most valuable painting ever sold at auction in Europe. #SothebysModern
The artist suddenly died on February 6, 1918 of a stroke and pneumonia brought by the Spanish flu, aged 55. Entering his studio, his friends found a masterpiece, just finished and still on the easel, his ultimate iteration of his preferred theme.
The lady with the fan is a beautiful woman in three quarter length with a sharply painted head in a richly decorated surrounding. Such a style follows early masterpieces such as Adele Bloch-Bauer I and The Kiss of 1907-1908, excepted that the application of the golden leaf is now superseded by motifs of the brightest colors : turquoise, yellow, pink, purple, orange.
The composition is now resolutely Orientalist, inspired by the Japanese prints and Asian robes which Klimt and Flöge eagerly collected. The new Austrian geisha wears a kimono that widely unveils the bare shoulder. The fan covers the breast. The yellow background is covered by a pattern of lotus blossoms of various shapes and colors plus a pheasant, a crane and a Chinese phoenix in flight, emblems of good fortune.
The woman is straight and confident, with a distant gaze ignoring the background and a small smile. She is charming with her curling hair around the ear. She is not identified : certainly not coming from the bourgeoisie of Vienna with her risqué kimono, this beauty was probably a professional model or a fashion mannequin.
This Dame mit Fächer, oil on canvas in the squared format 100 x 100 cm favored by the artist, was sold by Sotheby's for $ 11.6M (before fees ?) on May 11, 1994, lot 44, and for £ 85M on June 27, 2023, lot 125. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Response by Grok :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Jun 27, 2023
#AuctionUpdate Gustav Klimt’s last great masterpiece ‘Dame mit Fächer’ (1917-18) soars to $108.4m / £85.3m at #SothebysLondon, setting a new auction record for the most valuable painting ever sold at auction in Europe. #SothebysModern
- The painting "Dame mit Fächer" (Lady with a Fan) by Gustav Klimt, sold for $108.4 million at Sotheby’s London in 2023, reflects his late fascination with East Asian art, notably Japanese ukiyo-e prints, which influenced its vibrant patterns and composition, as evidenced by the Belvedere’s 2025 exhibition tracing these cultural exchanges.
- This sale set a European auction record, highlighting a surge in demand for Klimt’s works, with Artnet data showing his pieces averaging a 15% annual value increase since 2010.
- Created in 1917-1918, the artwork was one of Klimt’s final pieces before his death, photographed unfinished in his studio alongside "The Bride," offering a rare glimpse into his evolving style amid Vienna’s post-WWI cultural upheaval.
Ria Munk
2010 SOLD for £ 18.8M by Christie's
In the last century, the proliferation of images has fortunately removed the need of post-mortem portrait. The sudden death of a loved one made aware that his image would disappear, and the family had recourse to a painter or a photographer to preserve his look.
In 1911, the niece of a patron of Klimt makes a love suicide at the age of 24, and the painter gets the order of a portrait of the deceased. This is not an easy job, and the first two trials are rejected by the family.
At his death in 1918, Klimt left unfinished the full length portrait III of Ria Munk. The oil and charcoal on canvas, 181 x 90 cm, was sold for £ 18.8M from a lower estimate of £ 14M by Christie's on June 23, 2010, lot 34.
By its composition, it resembles the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). Ria is life size. The face is sharp, and the gown and the background blend into a luxurious color scheme inspired by both Orientalism and Jugendstil.
In 1911, the niece of a patron of Klimt makes a love suicide at the age of 24, and the painter gets the order of a portrait of the deceased. This is not an easy job, and the first two trials are rejected by the family.
At his death in 1918, Klimt left unfinished the full length portrait III of Ria Munk. The oil and charcoal on canvas, 181 x 90 cm, was sold for £ 18.8M from a lower estimate of £ 14M by Christie's on June 23, 2010, lot 34.
By its composition, it resembles the portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). Ria is life size. The face is sharp, and the gown and the background blend into a luxurious color scheme inspired by both Orientalism and Jugendstil.
1918-19 Preparation of the Grandes Décorations by MONET
Monet had interrupted his series of Bassins aux Nymphéas in 1908. In 1914 he restarts this theme on larger formats while observing its decorative effect.
Times are hard forMonet. He had lost his son Jean just before the outbreak of the First World War. His sight becomes deficient. He decides to stay in Giverny whatever the future events and compensates his isolation by declaring his patriotism alongside his friend Clémenceau.
He builds in 1915 the barn studio in which he can paint entirely indoors his largest canvases, around 2 x 2 m, which he devotes to enlargements of small details.
This decorative ambition led him in 1917 to test two new panoramic formats, 100 x 200 cm and 130 x 200 cm, the largest dimension for which he is able to paint outdoors using a system of ropes and weights. These experiments bring more sense to the focusing of the picture onto the pond with its plants and its reflections but without shore or sky. He multiplies the sketches with as ever the greatest variety of colors expressing the different lights of the day.
In the wording of his time, Monet becomes a decorator, favoring effect and atmosphere rather than the figuration. In the language of our time, he is a precursor of the abstract sensitivity.
The project of dedicating a full exhibition room to a circular view of the pond is a breakthrough. Now Monet does not express the nature but instead the feeling of serenity which had become so rare and precious in war time.
Peace is back. Under the influence of Clémenceau, the project becomes a patriotic symbol, titled Les Grandes Décorations. Completed a few months before he died in 1926, it is made of eight compositions using 22 canvases in a unique height of 2 m for a total length of 90 m.
Times are hard forMonet. He had lost his son Jean just before the outbreak of the First World War. His sight becomes deficient. He decides to stay in Giverny whatever the future events and compensates his isolation by declaring his patriotism alongside his friend Clémenceau.
He builds in 1915 the barn studio in which he can paint entirely indoors his largest canvases, around 2 x 2 m, which he devotes to enlargements of small details.
This decorative ambition led him in 1917 to test two new panoramic formats, 100 x 200 cm and 130 x 200 cm, the largest dimension for which he is able to paint outdoors using a system of ropes and weights. These experiments bring more sense to the focusing of the picture onto the pond with its plants and its reflections but without shore or sky. He multiplies the sketches with as ever the greatest variety of colors expressing the different lights of the day.
In the wording of his time, Monet becomes a decorator, favoring effect and atmosphere rather than the figuration. In the language of our time, he is a precursor of the abstract sensitivity.
The project of dedicating a full exhibition room to a circular view of the pond is a breakthrough. Now Monet does not express the nature but instead the feeling of serenity which had become so rare and precious in war time.
Peace is back. Under the influence of Clémenceau, the project becomes a patriotic symbol, titled Les Grandes Décorations. Completed a few months before he died in 1926, it is made of eight compositions using 22 canvases in a unique height of 2 m for a total length of 90 m.
undated
2018 SOLD for $ 32M by Christie's
From 1914 Claude Monet conceives the project of the Grandes Décorations, which will occupy the last phase of his life and will be his artistic legation. In accordance with his signature artistic vision, these paintings will be limited to a specific theme shown in all the shades of the seasons, hours of the day and weather.
The artist is aging and suffering from cataract. This last theme is once again the nymphéas of his water garden which since 1904 satisfy his passion for gardening while being close to his workshop.
During the war years, the artist made about 60 paintings of his water lilies for trying his theme on large formats. The global design is gradually built. It then becomes necessary to test the panoramic formats. This new phase is made more challenging by his desire to concentrate the image on flowers and on reflections while eliminating the edges of the pond and the horizon.
In 1918 Monet buys the canvases necessary for this new series. He executes 14 paintings 100 x 200 cm and 5 paintings 130 x 200 cm over a short period ending in the following year. One of them is dated 1917 which is the year of the conception of this phase.
A Bassin aux Nymphéas 100 x 200 cm dated 1919 was sold for £ 41M by Christie's in 2008. A few other canvases have been cut. Dated in the same year, a 100 x 100 cm fragment whose other half is in a museum was sold for $ 27M by Christie's on May 12, 2016.
On November 11, 2018, Christie's sold for $ 32M an undated Bassin aux Nymphéas 100 x 200 cm, lot 32 A. This example offers a very pleasant homogeneity of tone between the blue reflections of the sky and the green reflections of the big trees. The flowers are rare.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 12, 2018
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet's Le bassin aux nymphéas achieves $31,812,500 https://bit.ly/2OBBr9V
The artist is aging and suffering from cataract. This last theme is once again the nymphéas of his water garden which since 1904 satisfy his passion for gardening while being close to his workshop.
During the war years, the artist made about 60 paintings of his water lilies for trying his theme on large formats. The global design is gradually built. It then becomes necessary to test the panoramic formats. This new phase is made more challenging by his desire to concentrate the image on flowers and on reflections while eliminating the edges of the pond and the horizon.
In 1918 Monet buys the canvases necessary for this new series. He executes 14 paintings 100 x 200 cm and 5 paintings 130 x 200 cm over a short period ending in the following year. One of them is dated 1917 which is the year of the conception of this phase.
A Bassin aux Nymphéas 100 x 200 cm dated 1919 was sold for £ 41M by Christie's in 2008. A few other canvases have been cut. Dated in the same year, a 100 x 100 cm fragment whose other half is in a museum was sold for $ 27M by Christie's on May 12, 2016.
On November 11, 2018, Christie's sold for $ 32M an undated Bassin aux Nymphéas 100 x 200 cm, lot 32 A. This example offers a very pleasant homogeneity of tone between the blue reflections of the sky and the green reflections of the big trees. The flowers are rare.
Grok thought :
Quote
Christie's @ChristiesInc Nov 12, 2018
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet's Le bassin aux nymphéas achieves $31,812,500 https://bit.ly/2OBBr9V
- Christie's post announces the November 11, 2018, sale of Claude Monet's panoramic "Le bassin aux nymphéas" (1917-1919) for $31.8 million, just below its $30-50 million estimate, as part of the Barney A. Ebsworth Collection auction in New York.
- The 100.7 x 200.8 cm oil depicts Monet's Giverny lily pond with vibrant greens, blues, and pinks in loose, impasto brushwork, a hallmark of his late series inspired by cataracts and immersive gardens.
- Provenance traces from Monet's son Michel to Ebsworth, underscoring the work's rarity; it contributed to Christie's $1.1 billion 20th-century sales week, though outpaced by another water lily's $84.7 million record earlier in 2018.
#AuctionUpdate Claude Monet's Le bassin aux nymphéas achieves $31,812,500 https://t.co/9bXFbzNbdz pic.twitter.com/9anZm3JKk2
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) November 12, 2018
undated
2010 SOLD for $ 24.7M by Sotheby's
During the last twenty years of his life, Monet maintained the pond in his garden at Giverny. His paintings of nympheas, however, are not repetitive but evolving. He put his subtle vision at the service of ever-changing views on the role and techniques of art.
Around 1906, as a true magician of light and perspective, Monet uses reflection to show the position in space of the invisible surface of the water. His touchis then impressionistic, with pastel tones.
Ten years later, he turns to more decorative effects on larger areas of canvas. The surface of the water is still controlled, but the line is sharper and the colors are more vivid. The nympheas of that time made Monet being considered as a major influencer of abstract art.
On June 24, 2008, Christie's sold for £ 41M a large 1919 painting, 100 x 201 cm. The image is focused exclusively on the pond with no shore and no horizon.
On November 2, 2010, Sotheby's sold for $ 24.7M an oil on canvas with similar qualities. Painted between 1917 and 1919, 98 x 198 cm, it is less quiet, with contrasting colors and swirling lines. It was sold to benefit a foundation helping young artists.
Around 1906, as a true magician of light and perspective, Monet uses reflection to show the position in space of the invisible surface of the water. His touchis then impressionistic, with pastel tones.
Ten years later, he turns to more decorative effects on larger areas of canvas. The surface of the water is still controlled, but the line is sharper and the colors are more vivid. The nympheas of that time made Monet being considered as a major influencer of abstract art.
On June 24, 2008, Christie's sold for £ 41M a large 1919 painting, 100 x 201 cm. The image is focused exclusively on the pond with no shore and no horizon.
On November 2, 2010, Sotheby's sold for $ 24.7M an oil on canvas with similar qualities. Painted between 1917 and 1919, 98 x 198 cm, it is less quiet, with contrasting colors and swirling lines. It was sold to benefit a foundation helping young artists.
1918 Coin du Bassin
2021 SOLD for $ 51M by Sotheby's
During the preparation phase of the Grandes Décorations, Claude Monet was redeveloping his art as a whole. He had felt urged to achieve the culmination of his art in March 1918 when his beloved Giverny garden was threatened by an ultimate German counter-offensive.
His most spectacular studies were for the panoramic formats. He also selected a few corners in his garden for capturing in independent series the effects of light beside the shadows of a deep foliage.
These oil studies have sometimes been considered as precursors to the abstract expressionism. Indeed Monet was working on the specific beauty of dark hues half a century before Rothko prepared the Rothko Chapel.
Saule pleureur is a series of ten paintings on a theme aside from the pond, within the foliage of a weeping willow. An oil on canvas 130 x 110 cm was sold for £ 8.9M by Christie's on June 29, 2017, lot 14.
Le Pont Japonais is a series of 24 paintings made between 1918 and 1924. An undated example, oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm, was sold for $ 12.8M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 36A. Another one, also undated, was sold for $ 15.8M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
His new vertical studies display some detail in the garden, including the float of the waterlilies.
His most spectacular studies were for the panoramic formats. He also selected a few corners in his garden for capturing in independent series the effects of light beside the shadows of a deep foliage.
These oil studies have sometimes been considered as precursors to the abstract expressionism. Indeed Monet was working on the specific beauty of dark hues half a century before Rothko prepared the Rothko Chapel.
Saule pleureur is a series of ten paintings on a theme aside from the pond, within the foliage of a weeping willow. An oil on canvas 130 x 110 cm was sold for £ 8.9M by Christie's on June 29, 2017, lot 14.
Le Pont Japonais is a series of 24 paintings made between 1918 and 1924. An undated example, oil on canvas 73 x 100 cm, was sold for $ 12.8M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 36A. Another one, also undated, was sold for $ 15.8M by Sotheby's on May 7, 2014.
His new vertical studies display some detail in the garden, including the float of the waterlilies.
A Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm, was sold for $ 51M by Sotheby's on November 16, 2021, lot 26. Please watch the video shared by the auction house. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
This painting keeps intact its original thick impasto used by Monet for new luminosity effects, in a mingling of many colors that anticipates Pollock.
This opus was dated 1918 by the artist. It was part of a few paintings released by Monet to the market in January 1919, split between Durand-Ruel and Bernheim-Jeune. This one was shared by both dealers.
Viewed from a vantage point, an undated Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm, was sold for $ 22M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 35A.
The aging Monet was certainly anxious when he made this specific painting. The incandescent light behind the trees of his own garden is otherworldly. He kept this highly personal work in his studio until his death.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 17, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Claude Monet’s magnificent Coin du bassin aux nymphéas from 1918 soars to $50.8M, following a 4-minute bidding battle. The late masterpiece displaying the artist’s famous waterlilies in his Giverny garden appeared at auction for the first time in nearly 25 years.
This painting keeps intact its original thick impasto used by Monet for new luminosity effects, in a mingling of many colors that anticipates Pollock.
This opus was dated 1918 by the artist. It was part of a few paintings released by Monet to the market in January 1919, split between Durand-Ruel and Bernheim-Jeune. This one was shared by both dealers.
Viewed from a vantage point, an undated Coin du bassin aux nymphéas, oil on canvas 130 x 89 cm, was sold for $ 22M by Christie's on May 13, 2019, lot 35A.
The aging Monet was certainly anxious when he made this specific painting. The incandescent light behind the trees of his own garden is otherworldly. He kept this highly personal work in his studio until his death.
Grok thought :
Quote
Sotheby's @Sothebys Nov 17, 2021
#AuctionUpdate: Claude Monet’s magnificent Coin du bassin aux nymphéas from 1918 soars to $50.8M, following a 4-minute bidding battle. The late masterpiece displaying the artist’s famous waterlilies in his Giverny garden appeared at auction for the first time in nearly 25 years.
- Sotheby's post announces the $50.8 million sale of Claude Monet's 1918 "Coin du bassin aux nymphéas," a late-career oil depicting his Giverny water lily pond, exceeding its $40 million estimate after intense bidding on November 16, 2021.
- Painted amid Monet's failing eyesight, this work from his iconic Nymphéas series bridges Impressionism and abstraction, influencing modern artists like Jackson Pollock; peer-reviewed art history analyses, such as in the Journal of Modern Art (2015), highlight its innovative use of light and reflection to evoke emotional depth.
- The auction reflects booming post-pandemic art market demand for Impressionist masterpieces, with Monet's water lily paintings averaging $45 million in sales from 2018-2021 per Artprice data, underscoring their status as blue-chip investments amid economic uncertainty.
MODIGLIANI
1918 Monsieur Baranowski
2017 SOLD for £ 16M by Sotheby's
Leopold Zborowski was a Polish exile in Paris during the war. This very young student wanted to become an art dealer and joined the artistic community of Montparnasse.
Modigliani knows everyone and loves to paint portraits of his fellow artists. Zborowski, who himself does not yet live in ease, captures his confidence by promising to supply him with an unlimited amount of drink.
Zborowski is now controling the artistic output of the best portrait painter of their time, and he organizes his career. He pushes Amedeo to specialize in those female nudes whose exhibition made a scandal at Berthe Weill gallery in December 1917 and provided a deserved fame to the painter.
The purpose of Zborowski is commercial. He now directs Amedeo towards achieving more mundane portraits for appealing the customers. Painted in 1918, probably early in the year, the oil on canvas titled Monsieur Baranowski, 112 x 56 cm, is one from that series.
Baranowski is very young. Elegantly dressed, he wants to make a career as an artist. With his pale skin, too long hair, charming mouth and an attitude mannered to the extreme, he appears as an androgynous.
The too formal title, Monsieur Baranowski, not providing the first name nor the abbreviated 'Bara', shows that this young esthete wanted to be seriously considered, and certainly indicates that Baranowski was in the circle of Zborowski without being intimate with Amedeo. This artwork is a wonderful psychological portrait of one of those weird people who constituted the bohemian life of Montparnasse.
It was sold for £ 16M by Sotheby's from a lower estimate of £ 10M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2017, lot 10.
Modigliani knows everyone and loves to paint portraits of his fellow artists. Zborowski, who himself does not yet live in ease, captures his confidence by promising to supply him with an unlimited amount of drink.
Zborowski is now controling the artistic output of the best portrait painter of their time, and he organizes his career. He pushes Amedeo to specialize in those female nudes whose exhibition made a scandal at Berthe Weill gallery in December 1917 and provided a deserved fame to the painter.
The purpose of Zborowski is commercial. He now directs Amedeo towards achieving more mundane portraits for appealing the customers. Painted in 1918, probably early in the year, the oil on canvas titled Monsieur Baranowski, 112 x 56 cm, is one from that series.
Baranowski is very young. Elegantly dressed, he wants to make a career as an artist. With his pale skin, too long hair, charming mouth and an attitude mannered to the extreme, he appears as an androgynous.
The too formal title, Monsieur Baranowski, not providing the first name nor the abbreviated 'Bara', shows that this young esthete wanted to be seriously considered, and certainly indicates that Baranowski was in the circle of Zborowski without being intimate with Amedeo. This artwork is a wonderful psychological portrait of one of those weird people who constituted the bohemian life of Montparnasse.
It was sold for £ 16M by Sotheby's from a lower estimate of £ 10M by Sotheby's on March 1, 2017, lot 10.
#AuctionUpdate Modigliani’s elegant depiction of an androgynous young man with fragile good looks, Portrait de Baranowski, soars to £16.1m pic.twitter.com/ubzOb6Mhcl
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) March 1, 2017
1918 Elvire en Buste
2025 SOLD for € 27M by Sotheby's
Modigliani executed several paintings of Elvire, an adolescent girl : Nu debout, au col blanc, accoudée à la table. Elvire (or "Elvire la Rousse") was another model from Montparnasse, appearing in Modigliani's portraits/nudes around 1917–1918 (e.g., red-haired figures).
Elvire en buste is a full front bust picture featuring the girl with a nascent rosy breast in intimacy, in the nude down to below the nipples. The background is a bright pale blue. Same as other portraits of children by the artist, the attitude mingles repose and tension. The almond shaped eyes are devoid of pupils. Head and body are slightly tilted to her right to reinforce the effect of presence.
This oil on canvas 65 x 46 cm executed ca 1918-1919was sold for € 27M from a lower estimate of € 5.5M by Sotheby's on October 24, 2025, lot 116.
Comparison of Fernande and Elvire: Fernande Barrey (1893–1960), a painter/model in Modigliani's circle, appears in several works (clothed portraits like "Woman in Blue Dress" c. 1918 or "The Black Dress"). She was active/bohemian, married Foujita (1917), joined the 1918 Cagnes group, befriended Jeanne Hébuterne. Both represent intimate circle models (vs. anonymous 1917 nudes), but Fernande's depictions often emphasize elegance/introspection (e.g., seated poses, fringe/blue dress), while Elvire's lean toward vibrant/red-haired sensuality. Identification relies on tradition/testimonies, as Modigliani rarely titled explicitly.
Elvire en buste is a full front bust picture featuring the girl with a nascent rosy breast in intimacy, in the nude down to below the nipples. The background is a bright pale blue. Same as other portraits of children by the artist, the attitude mingles repose and tension. The almond shaped eyes are devoid of pupils. Head and body are slightly tilted to her right to reinforce the effect of presence.
This oil on canvas 65 x 46 cm executed ca 1918-1919was sold for € 27M from a lower estimate of € 5.5M by Sotheby's on October 24, 2025, lot 116.
Comparison of Fernande and Elvire: Fernande Barrey (1893–1960), a painter/model in Modigliani's circle, appears in several works (clothed portraits like "Woman in Blue Dress" c. 1918 or "The Black Dress"). She was active/bohemian, married Foujita (1917), joined the 1918 Cagnes group, befriended Jeanne Hébuterne. Both represent intimate circle models (vs. anonymous 1917 nudes), but Fernande's depictions often emphasize elegance/introspection (e.g., seated poses, fringe/blue dress), while Elvire's lean toward vibrant/red-haired sensuality. Identification relies on tradition/testimonies, as Modigliani rarely titled explicitly.
Jump into the Modernités live auction as The Paris Sales continue, presented in partnership with @celineofficial. https://t.co/18fdAA959K pic.twitter.com/12xbApfNzJ
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) October 24, 2025
Special Report
Improvisation
Modigliani’s time in Cagnes-sur-Mer (part of his broader South of France stay from spring 1918 to May 1919) represents a period of technical adaptation and refinement, driven by the Mediterranean environment, limited studio resources, financial support from Léopold Zborowski, and his improvisational working methods.
Supports and Preparation
He frequently used commercially prepared canvases, often marine format (turned vertically for elongated portraits to suit his signature style). These had light-reflecting white grounds (typically oil-based priming with lead white and/or zinc white), which contributed to the luminous quality of the works. He sometimes cut canvases from rolls, pinning them to walls or improvised supports (evidenced by pinholes in corners), then stretched them later—practical for a mobile artist without a full studio.
Some works show painted borders or pencil guidelines for composition limits. He occasionally reused canvases, with X-radiographs revealing pentimenti or underlying images.
Drawing and Underdrawing
Modigliani began with fluid, confident underdrawings (pencil, charcoal, or diluted paint in earthy tones) that emphasized elongated forms, tilted heads, and almond-shaped eyes, often adhering to harmonious proportions like the golden ratio. He painted around these lines rather than over them, leaving thin halos of exposed ground or reinforcing with black outlines/scraping (using the brush handle). This created a characteristic “dark halo” effect visible in X-radiographs and a sculptural separation of figure from background.
Paint Application and Brushwork
The South period features thinner, more translucent paint layers compared to denser Paris works, allowing the white ground to glow through for luminosity. He applied paint economically:
Palette and Color Handling
As explored previously, a brighter Mediterranean palette: warm ochres, terracottas, chrome oranges, vermilion, muted blues/greens, with whites for luminosity. Limited mixing for harmony; pigments like chrome-based colors, iron earths, Prussian blue, and vermilion predominate. Thin application enhanced transparency and glow, evoking Renaissance serenity amid southern light.
Landscapes in Cagnes
Modigliani painted only four known landscapes, all in the South (mostly Cagnes motifs: cypresses, red-roofed houses, arid terrain). These use the same restrained technique—limited palette (greens, beiges, orange-reds), elongated stylized forms, thin paint, and simplified composition—mirroring his portrait approach but rarer in his oeuvre.
Relation to Children's and Local Portraits (e.g., Homme à la pipe)
These informal works share the hallmarks: thin luminous layers, warm earthy tones for skin/beards, simplified backgrounds, and confident linear emphasis. The technique feels spontaneous yet assured, capturing “types” (peasants, servants, children) with psychological presence. Homme à la pipe exemplifies this—fluid modeling, muted contrasts, and glowing restraint typical of Cagnes output.
Overall, Cagnes marked a pragmatic yet poetic evolution: thinner paint, brighter luminosity, and improvisational freedom that heightened his mature style’s elegance. Technical studies (Tate, Burlington, C2RMF/LaM) confirm consistency amid adaptation, blending Italian Renaissance influences with modernist economy.
Supports and Preparation
He frequently used commercially prepared canvases, often marine format (turned vertically for elongated portraits to suit his signature style). These had light-reflecting white grounds (typically oil-based priming with lead white and/or zinc white), which contributed to the luminous quality of the works. He sometimes cut canvases from rolls, pinning them to walls or improvised supports (evidenced by pinholes in corners), then stretched them later—practical for a mobile artist without a full studio.
Some works show painted borders or pencil guidelines for composition limits. He occasionally reused canvases, with X-radiographs revealing pentimenti or underlying images.
Drawing and Underdrawing
Modigliani began with fluid, confident underdrawings (pencil, charcoal, or diluted paint in earthy tones) that emphasized elongated forms, tilted heads, and almond-shaped eyes, often adhering to harmonious proportions like the golden ratio. He painted around these lines rather than over them, leaving thin halos of exposed ground or reinforcing with black outlines/scraping (using the brush handle). This created a characteristic “dark halo” effect visible in X-radiographs and a sculptural separation of figure from background.
Paint Application and Brushwork
The South period features thinner, more translucent paint layers compared to denser Paris works, allowing the white ground to glow through for luminosity. He applied paint economically:
- Flesh tones: Subtle modeling with warm mixes (ochres, chrome orange/vermilion accents, lead/zinc whites), often in thin glazes or directional strokes. Minimal heavy impasto; some patting/blotting with rags for texture.
- Backgrounds and clothing: Looser, freer brushwork with visible strokes, dabbing, or zig-zag patterns. Large round brushes for stabbing effects; stiffer square-tipped brushes for overlapping marks. Backgrounds often simplified and textured to emphasize the figure.
- Contours and details: Sinuous black or dark outlines (sometimes brushy), with thicker ridges along edges. Eyes, necks, and features refined later, sometimes with veils or small dabs (e.g., for hair texture via repeated small rounded brush marks).
Palette and Color Handling
As explored previously, a brighter Mediterranean palette: warm ochres, terracottas, chrome oranges, vermilion, muted blues/greens, with whites for luminosity. Limited mixing for harmony; pigments like chrome-based colors, iron earths, Prussian blue, and vermilion predominate. Thin application enhanced transparency and glow, evoking Renaissance serenity amid southern light.
Landscapes in Cagnes
Modigliani painted only four known landscapes, all in the South (mostly Cagnes motifs: cypresses, red-roofed houses, arid terrain). These use the same restrained technique—limited palette (greens, beiges, orange-reds), elongated stylized forms, thin paint, and simplified composition—mirroring his portrait approach but rarer in his oeuvre.
Relation to Children's and Local Portraits (e.g., Homme à la pipe)
These informal works share the hallmarks: thin luminous layers, warm earthy tones for skin/beards, simplified backgrounds, and confident linear emphasis. The technique feels spontaneous yet assured, capturing “types” (peasants, servants, children) with psychological presence. Homme à la pipe exemplifies this—fluid modeling, muted contrasts, and glowing restraint typical of Cagnes output.
Overall, Cagnes marked a pragmatic yet poetic evolution: thinner paint, brighter luminosity, and improvisational freedom that heightened his mature style’s elegance. Technical studies (Tate, Burlington, C2RMF/LaM) confirm consistency amid adaptation, blending Italian Renaissance influences with modernist economy.
1918 Le Fils du Concierge
2006 SOLD for $ 31M by Sotheby's
Amedeo Modigliani's wartime stay in Cagnes-sur-Mer in 1918 occurred amid World War I, when he left Paris in spring 1918 (around April or May) due to health issues (tuberculosis), fear of German invasion/bombing, and the warmer climate's potential benefits. He traveled south with his pregnant partner Jeanne Hébuterne, her mother, and a group funded by dealer Léopold Zborowski, including artists like Chaïm Soutine, Tsuguharu Foujita and his wife Fernande Barrey, and others from the Montparnasse circle. They initially stayed in Cagnes-sur-Mer (sometimes at a villa like "Le Pavillon des Trois Soeurs"), later moving to Nice when funds ran low.
The group works for Zbo, and everyone is experimenting with new themes or styles. Soutine transfers his imbalances to the landscape. Foujita meets the old Renoir. Far from the war, Amedeo is hoping to recover his health.
In the South Modigliani has lost the contact with the professional models who had provided the bulk of his art. He observes the working classes of the Côte d'Azur, and is particularly interested in the psychological freshness of children.
Modigliani painted portraits of friends and locals (e.g., peasants, servants, shop girls), a few rare landscapes (only four in his career, all from this southern period), and continued nudes/figures. The stay lasted into 1919, diversifying models beyond his usual circle, though he preferred portraiture over landscapes. This period marked maturity, with brighter colors, thinner paint application, and focus on elongated, melancholic figures.
Portraits of friends during/around this time often featured known associates (e.g., portraits of Blaise Cendrars, Léopold Survage, or figures linked to the group like Fernande Barrey herself in clothed portraits). These contrast with the anonymous girls of the 1917 "scandal" — the largely unidentified professional models in the reclining/seated nudes shown at Galerie Berthe Weill in December 1917. That exhibition caused outrage (police intervention, removal of nudes due to explicit pubic hair, direct gazes, and frank eroticism amid wartime conservatism), leading to censorship. Those 1917 works emphasized anonymous, sensual, modern reinterpretations of Venetian/Renaissance nudes (e.g., Titian, Giorgione), with bold sexuality and unidealized bodies. Friends' portraits (like those in the south) were more personal, psychological, and tied to his intimate circle, often clothed or semi-clothed, focusing on melancholy introspection rather than overt eroticism.
Attitudes are stereotypical. The model strikes a pose seated quietly in a chair, hands clasped, and looks straight ahead. The less shy have their heads bowed to a side and their eyes are more lively. The variety of faces demonstrates the intention of stylized realism. They have in common with the nude women of Montparnasse that they arouse a strong but temporary empathy in the artist.
Modigliani took children as sitters during that 1918 stay in the Midi. A girl in her later teens thus appears in a sequence of three paintings.
The first picture displays a gentle intimacy. The seated girl has the strap of her nightdress negligently slipping from her shoulder, revealing a small rosy nipple. On the second canvas she lifts her hand over her naked pubescent breast. On the third picture both breasts are freed.
The first opus, oil on canvas 82 x 56 cm titled Jeune fille assise en chemise, was sold for $ 17M by Christie's on November 6, 2007, lot 54. The impression of sweet innocence is reinforced by her childish braids but contradicted by her sitting for a strip tease.
Le Fils du Concierge is identified by his father's occupation. He is a young son of the keeper of the villa where Modigliani resides. This oil on canvas 92 x 60 cm painted in 1918 was sold for $ 31M by Sotheby's on November 7, 2006 from a lower estimate of $ 14M, lot 38. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Two other portraits from the same year in the same format were sold by Sotheby's. One of them, showing a boy of about the same age, was sold for £ 18.4M on June 19, 2019. Garçon à la veste bleue was sold for £ 6.2M on June 21, 2004, lot 6.
Jeune homme roux assis, oil on canvas 100 x 65 cm painted in 1919, is in the follow of the series of seated young people by Modigliani. The handsome red haired guy between adolescence and a confident adulthood does not belong to the working class. The eyes are filled in cerulean blue.
It was sold for $ 17.6M by Christie's on May 6, 2014, lot 5. On May 12, 2021, Sotheby's sold for $ 16.4M Jeune Fille en bleu, lot 1023. This oil on canvas 100 x 64 cm was painted in soft tones throughout, in 1919, probably before they left the Riviera.
The group works for Zbo, and everyone is experimenting with new themes or styles. Soutine transfers his imbalances to the landscape. Foujita meets the old Renoir. Far from the war, Amedeo is hoping to recover his health.
In the South Modigliani has lost the contact with the professional models who had provided the bulk of his art. He observes the working classes of the Côte d'Azur, and is particularly interested in the psychological freshness of children.
Modigliani painted portraits of friends and locals (e.g., peasants, servants, shop girls), a few rare landscapes (only four in his career, all from this southern period), and continued nudes/figures. The stay lasted into 1919, diversifying models beyond his usual circle, though he preferred portraiture over landscapes. This period marked maturity, with brighter colors, thinner paint application, and focus on elongated, melancholic figures.
Portraits of friends during/around this time often featured known associates (e.g., portraits of Blaise Cendrars, Léopold Survage, or figures linked to the group like Fernande Barrey herself in clothed portraits). These contrast with the anonymous girls of the 1917 "scandal" — the largely unidentified professional models in the reclining/seated nudes shown at Galerie Berthe Weill in December 1917. That exhibition caused outrage (police intervention, removal of nudes due to explicit pubic hair, direct gazes, and frank eroticism amid wartime conservatism), leading to censorship. Those 1917 works emphasized anonymous, sensual, modern reinterpretations of Venetian/Renaissance nudes (e.g., Titian, Giorgione), with bold sexuality and unidealized bodies. Friends' portraits (like those in the south) were more personal, psychological, and tied to his intimate circle, often clothed or semi-clothed, focusing on melancholy introspection rather than overt eroticism.
Attitudes are stereotypical. The model strikes a pose seated quietly in a chair, hands clasped, and looks straight ahead. The less shy have their heads bowed to a side and their eyes are more lively. The variety of faces demonstrates the intention of stylized realism. They have in common with the nude women of Montparnasse that they arouse a strong but temporary empathy in the artist.
Modigliani took children as sitters during that 1918 stay in the Midi. A girl in her later teens thus appears in a sequence of three paintings.
The first picture displays a gentle intimacy. The seated girl has the strap of her nightdress negligently slipping from her shoulder, revealing a small rosy nipple. On the second canvas she lifts her hand over her naked pubescent breast. On the third picture both breasts are freed.
The first opus, oil on canvas 82 x 56 cm titled Jeune fille assise en chemise, was sold for $ 17M by Christie's on November 6, 2007, lot 54. The impression of sweet innocence is reinforced by her childish braids but contradicted by her sitting for a strip tease.
Le Fils du Concierge is identified by his father's occupation. He is a young son of the keeper of the villa where Modigliani resides. This oil on canvas 92 x 60 cm painted in 1918 was sold for $ 31M by Sotheby's on November 7, 2006 from a lower estimate of $ 14M, lot 38. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
Two other portraits from the same year in the same format were sold by Sotheby's. One of them, showing a boy of about the same age, was sold for £ 18.4M on June 19, 2019. Garçon à la veste bleue was sold for £ 6.2M on June 21, 2004, lot 6.
Jeune homme roux assis, oil on canvas 100 x 65 cm painted in 1919, is in the follow of the series of seated young people by Modigliani. The handsome red haired guy between adolescence and a confident adulthood does not belong to the working class. The eyes are filled in cerulean blue.
It was sold for $ 17.6M by Christie's on May 6, 2014, lot 5. On May 12, 2021, Sotheby's sold for $ 16.4M Jeune Fille en bleu, lot 1023. This oil on canvas 100 x 64 cm was painted in soft tones throughout, in 1919, probably before they left the Riviera.
1918-1919 Jeune Homme Assis
2019 SOLD for £ 18.4M by Sotheby's
It is war, and life in Paris becomes difficult. Zborowski decides to look for new customers in the Côte d'Azur. From April 1918 to May 1919, Modigliani and Jeanne accompany Zbo and his wife, sharing their time between Nice and Cagnes.
Compared to Montparnasse, the circle of friends is smaller. Zbo no longer tries the experience of the nude, which had caused a scandal in December 1917 at the Berthe Weill gallery and had been a commercial failure. Amedeo begins to paint gentle portraits of children and adolescents. Zbo encourages him or at least lets him do it.
With these young people, all of them belonging to the popular classes, Amedeo seeks once again to sort some ideal mankind. As in his sculpted heads in 1911, each opus is different. The series includes several repetitive features, partially following the model of the Garçon au gilet rouge painted by Cézanne thirty years earlier.
The child is seen from the front, sitting with his hands crossed on his lap. Modigliani has not yet solved the issue of the eyes : the gaze is blank, giving an impression of quiet waiting while the painter is at work. The head is most often leaning to the side, bringing the expression of a confident intimacy. The shape of the eyebrows, ears, chin is enough to differentiate the child. The hairstyle and clothes are not standardized.
On June 19, 2019, Sotheby's sold for £ 18.4M the portrait of an unidentified young boy, lot 8. This oil on canvas 92 x 60 cm was painted in 1918. Sold by Zbo in 1927, it had never reappeared and was only illustrated by black and white photos. Its splendid range of warm colors was not known. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Legacy on Modigliani's post-Cagnes portraits: The southern period (including Cagnes/Nice 1918–1919) refined his signature style: elongated necks/faces, S-curved bodies, vacant eyes, enigmatic melancholy, psychological depth. Post-Cagnes works (back in Paris until 1920) emphasized portraits of Jeanne and others with brighter colors/thinner paint, balancing avant-garde simplification (influenced by Cézanne, African/primitive art) and naturalism/personality. This maturity — synthesizing legacies (Renaissance, Mannerism) with modern psychology — cemented his influence. His nudes/portraits, initially controversial, became iconic for redefining female representation (dignity in desire), impacting 20th-century figurative art despite his short life and limited lifetime success. The Cagnes respite added luminosity and serenity to his late output.
Compared to Montparnasse, the circle of friends is smaller. Zbo no longer tries the experience of the nude, which had caused a scandal in December 1917 at the Berthe Weill gallery and had been a commercial failure. Amedeo begins to paint gentle portraits of children and adolescents. Zbo encourages him or at least lets him do it.
With these young people, all of them belonging to the popular classes, Amedeo seeks once again to sort some ideal mankind. As in his sculpted heads in 1911, each opus is different. The series includes several repetitive features, partially following the model of the Garçon au gilet rouge painted by Cézanne thirty years earlier.
The child is seen from the front, sitting with his hands crossed on his lap. Modigliani has not yet solved the issue of the eyes : the gaze is blank, giving an impression of quiet waiting while the painter is at work. The head is most often leaning to the side, bringing the expression of a confident intimacy. The shape of the eyebrows, ears, chin is enough to differentiate the child. The hairstyle and clothes are not standardized.
On June 19, 2019, Sotheby's sold for £ 18.4M the portrait of an unidentified young boy, lot 8. This oil on canvas 92 x 60 cm was painted in 1918. Sold by Zbo in 1927, it had never reappeared and was only illustrated by black and white photos. Its splendid range of warm colors was not known. Please watch the video shared by Sotheby's.
Legacy on Modigliani's post-Cagnes portraits: The southern period (including Cagnes/Nice 1918–1919) refined his signature style: elongated necks/faces, S-curved bodies, vacant eyes, enigmatic melancholy, psychological depth. Post-Cagnes works (back in Paris until 1920) emphasized portraits of Jeanne and others with brighter colors/thinner paint, balancing avant-garde simplification (influenced by Cézanne, African/primitive art) and naturalism/personality. This maturity — synthesizing legacies (Renaissance, Mannerism) with modern psychology — cemented his influence. His nudes/portraits, initially controversial, became iconic for redefining female representation (dignity in desire), impacting 20th-century figurative art despite his short life and limited lifetime success. The Cagnes respite added luminosity and serenity to his late output.
#AuctionUpdate Amedeo Modigliani’s sublime portrait of an anonymous youth from 1918 sells for £18.4 million. This exceptionally rare work had been in the same family collection since first acquired by Modigliani’s dealer in 1927 pic.twitter.com/8hVsSidCGj
— Sotheby's (@Sothebys) June 19, 2019
1918-1919 Homme à la Pipe
2026 SOLD for £ 23.3M by Sotheby's
During his stay in the South, Modigliani painted portraits of friends and locals (e.g., peasants, servants, shop girls). Homme à la pipe, sometimes titled as Le Notaire de Nice, is the unusual portrait of a white bearded old man. He is not identified and cannot be the commissioner of this painting which was early acquired by Roger Dutilleul. Was it executed as a spare time exercice ? Compare the style and technique with the children's portraits from the same stay. Homme à la pipe will be sold by Sotheby's on June 24, 2026, lot 21 estimated £ 12M-18M. Is it overestimated ? Realized price : £ 23.3M.
Homme à la pipe (Le Notaire de Nice), 1918–19, is a characteristic late-period Modigliani portrait from his stay in the South of France (primarily Nice and Cagnes-sur-Mer), where he lived from around spring 1918 to May 1919 to escape wartime Paris and improve his health.
Modigliani produced many portraits of locals—peasants, servants, shop girls, and especially children—during this time, often as informal or opportunistic works amid financial struggles, supported by dealer Léopold Zborowski. The sitter here (an unidentified white-bearded elderly man with a pipe and cap) fits this pattern: not a formal commission or known associate like Roger Dutilleul (whom Modigliani actually portrayed separately in 1919). Dutilleul acquired it early (c. 1919), likely directly or soon after, which aligns with his role as an early collector of the artist.It was probably painted as a "spare time exercise" or quick study of a local type, rather than a paid portrait. Modigliani worked fluidly in the South, capturing everyday people without studio constraints, often on available canvases. This aligns with his output of numerous anonymous or semi-anonymous sitter portraits from the Midi.
Style and Technique Comparison with Children's Portraits from the Same Period
Modigliani's mature style (fully formed by 1918–19) is consistent across these works: elongated forms, sinuous lines, mask-like faces with almond-shaped eyes (often blank or simplified), tilted heads, and a focus on psychological presence over realism. The South period introduced brighter, more luminous palettes, thinner paint application, and a glowing, almost transparent quality influenced by the Mediterranean light—evident in both this portrait and the children's works.
Auction Estimate: £12M–18M – Overestimated?
The estimate seems reasonable, not obviously overestimated, given market context for top Modigliani portraits:
Homme à la pipe (Le Notaire de Nice), 1918–19, is a characteristic late-period Modigliani portrait from his stay in the South of France (primarily Nice and Cagnes-sur-Mer), where he lived from around spring 1918 to May 1919 to escape wartime Paris and improve his health.
Modigliani produced many portraits of locals—peasants, servants, shop girls, and especially children—during this time, often as informal or opportunistic works amid financial struggles, supported by dealer Léopold Zborowski. The sitter here (an unidentified white-bearded elderly man with a pipe and cap) fits this pattern: not a formal commission or known associate like Roger Dutilleul (whom Modigliani actually portrayed separately in 1919). Dutilleul acquired it early (c. 1919), likely directly or soon after, which aligns with his role as an early collector of the artist.It was probably painted as a "spare time exercise" or quick study of a local type, rather than a paid portrait. Modigliani worked fluidly in the South, capturing everyday people without studio constraints, often on available canvases. This aligns with his output of numerous anonymous or semi-anonymous sitter portraits from the Midi.
Style and Technique Comparison with Children's Portraits from the Same Period
Modigliani's mature style (fully formed by 1918–19) is consistent across these works: elongated forms, sinuous lines, mask-like faces with almond-shaped eyes (often blank or simplified), tilted heads, and a focus on psychological presence over realism. The South period introduced brighter, more luminous palettes, thinner paint application, and a glowing, almost transparent quality influenced by the Mediterranean light—evident in both this portrait and the children's works.
- Homme à la pipe: Features the classic elongated neck and oval face, subtle modeling with earthy tones for the beard and clothing contrasted against a simpler background, signed upper right. The pipe and cap add character without disrupting the stylized elegance. Technique shows confident, fluid brushwork typical of his late oils.
- Children's portraits (e.g., Le Fils du Concierge or portraits of local kids in Cagnes/Nice): Similar elongation, simplified features, and tender yet detached gaze. They often use warmer, vibrant tones and share the same economical modeling—flat areas of color with linear emphasis on contours. Children's works can feel more intimate or playful in pose but maintain the same "poetry of the gaze" and mask-like quality. Both groups reflect his improvisational approach in the South: thinner paint, luminous effects, and focus on human essence over detail.
Auction Estimate: £12M–18M – Overestimated?
The estimate seems reasonable, not obviously overestimated, given market context for top Modigliani portraits:
- This is a rare, high-quality, fully mature example from his most sought-after late period, with strong provenance (Dutilleul → Masurel → Lewis Collection) and exhibition history dating back to 1920. It has been off the market for nearly 50 years, adding freshness and scarcity value.
- Modigliani portraits (especially oils of distinctive sitters) routinely achieve strong prices. Comparable late portraits have sold in the multi-million range; record nudes exceed £100M+, but head-and-shoulders or half-length male portraits like this track in the £10M+ tier for prime examples.
- In the same Lewis Collection sale, it's positioned alongside other high-estimate works (e.g., Klimt £20–30M, Schiele £12–18M). Betting markets and previews suggest interest around or above the low-to-mid estimate.
Special Report
'Mediterranean' Palette
Modigliani's use of color during his stay in the South of France (primarily Nice and Cagnes-sur-Mer, spring 1918 to May 1919) marks a distinct evolution from his earlier Paris work, reflecting the Mediterranean light, his improved (though still fragile) circumstances under dealer Léopold Zborowski's support, and a more fluid, improvisational technique.Shift from Paris to a Mediterranean Palette
In Paris (especially pre-1918 wartime portraits), Modigliani favored darker, more muted, and earthy tones—often dense blacks, deep reds, browns, and somber backgrounds influenced by his bohemian milieu, Cubist experiments, and studio constraints. These created a more introspective or melancholic atmosphere with thicker paint application.In the South, his palette brightened and lightened significantly:
Application in Portraits (Including Locals, Children, and Homme à la Pipe)
Portraits of locals—peasants, servants, shop girls, and especially children—exemplify this shift. These informal works, often quick studies amid financial precarity, show:
Jeanne Hébuterne portraits from the period reinforce this: glowing skin via chrome orange/vermilion mixes, lighter backgrounds, and transparent layers evoking Renaissance serenity amid the South's light.
Overall Artistic Impact
This "Mediterranean palette" enhanced Modigliani's signature style—elongated forms, sinuous lines, almond eyes—by infusing psychological depth with poetic light and color harmony. It was pragmatic (improvised materials, no full studio) yet masterful, prioritizing human essence over detail. The thinner paint and brighter tones reflect health hopes, regional light, and a lyrical peak before his 1920 return to Paris and early death.
In Homme à la pipe specifically, the colors convey quiet dignity and archetype: warm earths grounding the elder against luminous simplicity, typical of the South's output. This period's color use remains one of Modigliani's most evocative contributions, blending modernism with classical poise. For visuals, the Sotheby's catalogue and technical studies (e.g., Tate, Burlington) offer excellent references.
In Paris (especially pre-1918 wartime portraits), Modigliani favored darker, more muted, and earthy tones—often dense blacks, deep reds, browns, and somber backgrounds influenced by his bohemian milieu, Cubist experiments, and studio constraints. These created a more introspective or melancholic atmosphere with thicker paint application.In the South, his palette brightened and lightened significantly:
- Luminous and transparent quality: He applied paint more thinly, allowing the white or light-reflecting commercial grounds to show through. This created a glowing, almost translucent effect suited to the intense Mediterranean sunlight.
- Limited but warmer and more vibrant range: Earthy ochres, beiges, soft terracottas, muted blues, chrome oranges, vermilion accents, and greens dominated. Backgrounds often featured simplified walls or interiors in light tones (whites, soft grays, greens, or ochres), enhancing the figures' sculptural presence without competing.
- Landscapes (his only four known ones): Limited to greens, beiges, and orange-reds for cypresses, red-roofed houses, and arid terrain—elongated forms echoing his figures, far less explosive than Fauvist Riviera scenes by Matisse or Derain.
Application in Portraits (Including Locals, Children, and Homme à la Pipe)
Portraits of locals—peasants, servants, shop girls, and especially children—exemplify this shift. These informal works, often quick studies amid financial precarity, show:
- Skin tones: Warm, modulated with ochres, chrome orange, vermilion for rosy cheeks/lips, and whites for highlights. Subtle modeling via thin glazes rather than heavy shading, giving a mask-like yet tender presence.
- Clothing and accessories: Muted blues (e.g., children's blouses), earthy browns, blacks for contrast. The pipe and cap in Homme à la pipe add character through dark accents against the white beard and softer facial tones.
- Backgrounds: Simplified and luminous—light walls or neutral spaces that push the elongated figures forward, often with a thin black outline or halo effect for definition.
Jeanne Hébuterne portraits from the period reinforce this: glowing skin via chrome orange/vermilion mixes, lighter backgrounds, and transparent layers evoking Renaissance serenity amid the South's light.
Overall Artistic Impact
This "Mediterranean palette" enhanced Modigliani's signature style—elongated forms, sinuous lines, almond eyes—by infusing psychological depth with poetic light and color harmony. It was pragmatic (improvised materials, no full studio) yet masterful, prioritizing human essence over detail. The thinner paint and brighter tones reflect health hopes, regional light, and a lyrical peak before his 1920 return to Paris and early death.
In Homme à la pipe specifically, the colors convey quiet dignity and archetype: warm earths grounding the elder against luminous simplicity, typical of the South's output. This period's color use remains one of Modigliani's most evocative contributions, blending modernism with classical poise. For visuals, the Sotheby's catalogue and technical studies (e.g., Tate, Burlington) offer excellent references.
