Description : 1884-1920
CARIATIDE
measurements
24 1/8 by 18 1/8 in.
alternate measurements
61.5 by 46 cm
Executed in 1912-13.
Signed Modigliani (lower right)
Pen and brush and ink over pencil on paper
PROVENANCE
Mariska Diederich, Paris
Félix Féneon, Paris
Van der Cleep Collection, Paris
David Kellerman, Paris
Serge Stoliar, Paris
Acquired by the mother of the previous owner in the 1950s (sold: Christie's, New York, November 9 2000, lot 434)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Private Collection, Switzerland
LITERATURE
Christian Parisot, Modigliani, Catalogue raisonné, vol. 1, Livorno, 1990, no. 4/13, illustrated p. 254
Osvaldo Patani, Amedeo Modigliani. Catalogo generale, Scultore e disegni 1909-1914, Milan, 1992, no. 158, illustrated p. 153
NOTE
The present work is a remarkable example of Modigliani's exploration of Cariatids, the theme that preoccupied the artist during his early years in Paris, leading up to the First World War. It was Modigliani's dream to create a great series of stone cariatids but his poor health limited the scope of his production in this medium, and instead he turned to a two-dimensional exploration of this theme, executing a large number of drawings and studies, and a few rare paintings. The highly stylized, geometricized forms were influenced not only by tribal artefacts, but also by the sculptures of Constantin Brancusi, who similarly sought to reduce the human form to the minimal sculptural elements.
The subject of Cariatids derives from Modigliani's fascination with these nude or partly draped female figures that supported the roofs of ancient Greek temples. Borrowing the theme from classical antiquity, the artist detached the cariatids from their architectural setting, transforming a decorative device into an autonomous figure. As Noël Alexandre remarked: 'Modigliani was enchanted by these figures -- at once real and unreal -- whose inflexibility, imposed by their functional role, is relieved by the fantasy of their being atlantes or idealised women. [...] The subtle use of stylization and simplification derived from African masks, tattoos, earrings and necklaces, intensifies the majestic elegance of these beautiful creatures, who epitomize the highly personal devotion that Modigliani showed to women' (N. Alexandre, The Unknown Modigliani: Drawings from the Collection of Paul Alexandre (exhibition catalogue), The Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1993, p. 189).
The present work, executed in a subtle brush and ink technique, belonged to Mariska Diederich, the wife of the American sculptor Wilhelm Hunt Diederich who acquired many drawings from their friend Modigliani in Paris.
Fig. 1 Amedeo Modigliani, Caryatid, circa 1914, limestone, The Museum of Modern Art, New York
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À propos du lot
n° 364 Titre : Cariatide, Période : 1912 Medium : Pen and brush and ink over pencil on paper Dimensions : 24 1/8 by 18 1/8 in. Sotheby's, Salle de vente
, New York, USC'est GRATUIT! créez un compte pour lire l'info Titre de la vente : Impressionist & Modern Art Day Sale Date de la vente : 08/11/2006C'est GRATUIT! créez un compte pour lire l'info Référence de l'enchère
: Live Sale