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.
Renée Modot
Hiding in Plain Sight: Renée Modot
The model is the wife of a French moving picture actor. She is known as “Mado” [sic].
This annotation appears on the original inventory record for “Nude on a Divan,” a painting dated 1918 in the Chester Dale Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. A further note specifies that the work was painted in Nice. Despite these intriguing clues, until now the alluring model in the painting has never been positively identified. New archival research reveals that she was Renée Modot (1894–1978), wife of the French film actor Gaston Modot (1887–1970).
Fernand Thibaut
A Case Study in Provenance Research
Provenance research can lead to serendipitous discoveries. This is particularly true when researching the owners of Modigliani’s portraits because of the interconnectedness of the artistic community living and working in close proximity in Paris in the years leading up to and during the First World War. Many of Modigliani’s friends and associates were not only his models but some were among his earliest collectors.
Marie Beerbohm
A Thoroughly Modern Woman
“Mr. Edward Wolfe thinks this may be Marie Beerbohm, niece of Max Beerbohm.”
This handwritten addendum appears at the bottom of the original typed record for “Woman with Red Hair,” a painting dated 1917 in the Chester Dale Collection at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. (fig. 1) Mary Bullard, the inscription’s likely author, was Maud Dale’s long-time assistant who kept meticulous records of the rapidly growing art collection. The Dales purchased the painting in March 1928 and when it was shown three years later the title was given as “Portrait, Mlle. P. de C.” Edward Wolfe may have been trying to set the record straight; having known Marie well, he was in a position to identify her.