Spotlight
In Spotlight, we will periodically present short essays on the latest research findings and overlooked aspects of Modigliani’s life and circle. While the artist’s name is readily recognized, and volumes of literature have been written about him and his work, there remains a surprising number of overlooked areas in his biography. This is particularly true of some of his subjects and early collectors of his work, many of whom were marginalized over time because of their gender or by anti-Semitic forces that culminated with World War II. Spotlight will focus on these individuals—the models, collectors, friends, and lesser-known art dealers in Modigliani’s circle—whose stories enrich the provenance of his works and, at the same time, contribute to the scholarship on the artist.
Game Changer
How Galerie Bernheim-Jeune Initiated the Modigliani Craze
One of the leading art galleries in Paris, Galerie Bernheim-Jeune first entered the Modigliani market in September 1920. Just months after the artist’s death, the gallery acquired seven paintings from the Norwegian art dealer Walther Halvorsen (1887–1972). By year’s end, Bernheim-Jeune had purchased five more paintings from a range of sources, including one of Amedeo Modigliani’s earliest collectors, as well as one of his good friends. Even the art dealer Paul Guillaume (1891–1934), one of the first to support the artist, sold a painting to Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in December 1920.
“Première Exposition,” Lyre et Palette, November 19 – December 5, 1916
“Première Exposition,” Lyre et Palette
November 19 – December 5, 1916
Against the backdrop of Erik Satie’s performance of a “musical moment,” notable literary and artistic personalities mingled with the picturesque crowd of Montparnasse artists and models before the bold canvases at the “Première Exposition” vernissage at Lyre et Palette. The group show featured work by such recognized artists as Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso, as well as Manuel Ortiz de Zarate and Moïse Kisling. Modigliani, however, was by far the most prominently represented, with fourteen paintings and a group of drawings.