DescriptionBorn to a once-prosperous Jewish merchant family in Italy, Amedeo Modigliani grew up in a cultured but financially strained environment in Livorno. A severe bout of pleurisy ended his formal schooling at age fourteen, and he was plagued by poor health for the rest of his short life; he died of tuberculosis at age thirty-five. From 1902 to 1906 Modigliani studied painting with the Italian artist Guglielmo Micheli (a proponent of plein-air painting) and visited Capri, Naples, Florence, Venice, and Rome. In 1906 he moved permanently to Paris, where he frequented artists' gatherings and became friends with other expatriate artists living in France, such as Chaim Soutine and Moïse Kisling. Modigliani was a prolific artist, producing some 420 paintings, innumerable drawings, and 31 sculptures between 1906 and 1920.

His celebrated series of nudes continues the tradition of depictions of Venuses from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century but with one significant difference: the eroticism of the earlier figures is always couched within a mythological or anecdotal context, whereas Modigliani does away with this pretext. Consequently, his women appear unabashedly frank and provocative.

The artist is best known for the works that he created in Paris between 1915 and 1919 — portraits, in which a few telling details achieve a striking likeness, and nudes. Modigliani began his great series of reclining women in 1916. The two dozen or so figures — never his mistresses or friends but always professional models — lie on a dark bed cover that accentuates the glow of their skin; they are seen close-up and usually from above. Their stylized bodies span the entire width of the canvas, and their hands and feet often remain outside the picture's frame. Sometimes asleep, they most often face the viewer, as does this gracefully built model in one of the artist's most famous paintings of the series.

Signatures, Inscriptions, and MarkingsSignature: [upper right]: modigliani

Provenance- Leopold Zborowski, Paris (1920 – 1926); - Georges Menier (1880-1933), Paris (by 1926); - to his son, Claude Menier (1906-1973) , Paris (until at least 1958); - [Galerie Mouradian-Vallotton, Paris (until 1960)]; - [Perls Galleries, New York]; Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, New York (by January 1960 – their gift to the Metropolitan Museum in 1997).

Selected Exhibition HistoryExhibitions

- Paris 1958. "Cent tableaux de Modigliani," Galerie Charpentier, Paris, April-May 1958, exh. cat. with foreword by Raymond Nacenta, exh. cat., n.p., no. 48 (listed under 1917, ill., as Nu étendu, 62 x 92 [cm], Collection particulière) ;
- Marseille 1958. "Modigliani," Musée Cantini, Marseille, June 10-July 27, 1958, exh. cat. with intro. by Lionello Venturi, [hors catalogue; added to the checklist: Nu étendu, 1917, 62x92, Private collection ];
- New York 1960. "Major Recent Acquisitions," Perls Galleries, New York, January 19-March 5, 1960, exh. cat., n.p., pl. [1] (color ill., as Nu couché, signed and painted in 1918) ;
- New York 1963. "Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920)," Perls Galleries, New York, October 29-December 7, 1963, exh. cat., frontisp. (b&w ill., as Nu couché), no. 17 (Nu couché, dated 1918, lent anonymously);
- New York 1966. "The Nudes of Modigliani [For the benefit of the Dance Collection of the New York Public Library]," Perls Galleries, New York, October 11-November 12, 1966, exh. cat. with intro by William S[lattery] Lieberman, no. 1 (color ill. on cover, as Nu couché, dated 1918, lent anonymously), & cf. essay p. [3];
- New York 1971. "Amedeo Modigliani [Loan exhibition, for the benefit of the Museum of Modern Art, New York]," Acquavella Galleries, New York, October 14-November 13, 1971, exh. cat. by Alfred Werner, n.p., no. 37 (color ill., as Nu couché, 1918, and listed in checklist as collection Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls );
- Paris 1981. "Amedeo Modigliani, 1884-1920," Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, March 26-June 28, 1981, foreword by Bernadette Contencou and Daniel Marchesseau; essays by J.M.G. Le Clézio, Daniel Marchesseau, Madeleine Hours, Suzy Delbourgo and Lola Faiilant-Dumas, Jeanne Modigliani, cat entries by Guillaume Garnier and Daniel Marchesseau, exh. cat., Paris, 1981, p. 134, no. 51 (color ill., as Nu couché, les mains derrière la tête, 1917, New York, Perls Galleries );
GET PHOTOCOPY- Washington 1983-84. "Modigliani, An Anniversary Exhibition," National Gallery of Art, Washington, D. C., December 11, 1983-April 22, 1984, exh. cat. [TK];
- New York 2000. "Painters in Paris 1895-1950," The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, March 8-December 31, 2000, exh. cat. by William S[lattery] Lieberman, pp. 86 (color ill., as Reclining Nude, 1917, The Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls Collection, 1997, 1997.149.9), 124, and cover;
- Kyoto-Tokyo 2002-2003. "Picasso and the School of Paris, Paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, September 14-November 24, 2002, The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, December 7, 2002-March 9, 2003, exh. cat. by William S[lattery] Lieberman, et al., [Japan], 2002, pp. 21 fig. 20, 83-85 no. 34 (color ill. and color dtl);
- Toronto-Washington 2004-2005. "Modigliani: Beyond the Myth," The Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, October 23, 2004-January 23, 2005, The Phillips Collection, Washington, D. C., February 19-May 29, 2005 (hors catalogue).
- Houston 2007. "The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1800-1920," The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 4-May 6, 2007, exh. cat. with introduction by Gary Tinterow and texts by Kathryn Calley Galitz, Sabine Rewald, Susan Alyson Stein, and Gary Tinterow, pp. 170-5 (entry by SR), no. 130 (color ill., as Reclining Nude), p. 236;
- Berlin 2007. "Französische Meisterwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts aus dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, May 31-October 7, 2007, exh. cat. edited by Angela Schneider, Anke Deamgen, and Gary Tinterow, p. 258 (entry by Sabine Rewald), color ill. p. 259 (as Liegende Akt / Nu couché);
GET PHOTOCOPY - New York 2007. Opening of the new NCMC galleries, MMA, NY, October 2007, exh. cat., exh title? [TK]
GET PHOTOCOPY - Madrid 2008. "Modigliani and his Times," Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, February 5- May 18, 2008, exh. cat., no. ?. [TK]

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Selected BibliographyReferences

- Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration 1925. Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration (Darmstadt), vol. 56, no. 28 (July 1925), p. [208] (ill., as Liegender Akt) ;
- Salmon 1926. André Salmon, Modigliani, sa vie et son oeuvre, Paris: Quatre chemins, [1926], pl. 8 (as Femme endormie, 1917, coll. G. Meunier);
- Scheiwiller 1927. Giovanni Scheiwiller, Amedeo Modigliani, Milan: Hoepli, 1927, pl. [4] (as Donna addormentata, 1917, Parigi, coll. G. Meunier) ; ibid., Milan 1932, pl. VI (ill.), ibid., Milan 1936, pl. VII (ill.), and ibid., Milan 1942, pl. VII (ill.) ;
- Scheiwiller 1928. Giovanni Scheiwiller, Amedeo Modigliani, Paris: Chroniques du Jour, 1928, pl. III (ill.) ;
- Pfannstiel 1929. Arthur Pfannstiel, Modigliani, pref. by Louis Latourrettes, Paris: Marcel Seheur, [1929], series "L'art et la vie," facing p. 98 (ill., as Nu couché, 1917), and appendix ("Catalogue Présumé"), pp. 20-21 (under 1917 as Nu couché, coll. G. Meunier, Paris, anc. col. L. Zborowski, Paris);
GET PHOTOCOPY - Georges-Michel 1929. Michel Georges-Michel, Les Montparnos, roman nouveau de la Bohème cosmopolite [1924], Paris: Fasquelles, 1929, p. 223 (ill.) ;
- Taguchi 1936. Seigo Taguchi, Modigliani [1930], Tokyo: Atelier-Sha, 1936, pl. 9;
- Carrieri 1955. Raffaele Carrieri, Avant-Garde Painting and Sculpture (1890-1955) in Italy [1950], 2nd ed. with English trans., Milan: Istituto Editoriale Domus, 1955, p. [92], fig. 102 (as Donna addormentata, 1917), and n.p. (listed as no. 102, coll. Meunier, Paris) ;
- Costantini 1951. Vincenzo Costantini, Archittetura, scultura, pittura contemporanea Europea in un secolo di materialismo, Milan: Ceschina, [1951], p. 259 (ill., as Donna addormentata);
- Pfannstiel 1956. Arthur Pfannstiel, Modigliani et son oeuvre: étude critique et catalogue raisonné, Paris: La bibliothèque des arts, 1956, p. 98 no. 132 (as Nu couché, 60 x 92 cm; coll. G. Menier, Paris, Hist: coll. J. Zborowski, Paris) ;
- Ceroni 1958. Ambrogio Ceroni, Amedeo Modigliani, peintre; suivi des "Souvenirs" de Lunia Czechowska, Milan: Edizioni del Milione, 1958, p. 64, no. 130, fig. 130 (as Nu couché (au bras derrière la tête), 60 x 92 cm, dated 1918; owner given as private collection, Paris);
GET PHOTOCOPY - Modigliani 1961. Jeanne Modigliani, Modigliani sans légende, 1961, no. 52 (ill., as collection privée, Paris) ;
- Werner 1966. Alfred Werner, Modigliani, New York: Abrams, [1966], p. 44, fig. 52 (b&w ill., as Reclining Nude, 1918, private collection, new York);
- Lanthemann 1970. J. Lanthemann. Modigliani 1884-1920, Catalogue Raisonné. Sa vie, son Oeuvre complet, son art, Barcelona: Gràficas Condal, 1970, p. 117 no. 153, p. 200 fig. 153 (as Nu couché (les bras derrière la tête, 1916), no owner named);
- Ceroni 1970. Ambrogio Ceroni, Amedeo Modigliani, intro. by Leone Piccioni, Milan: Rizzoli, 1970, color pl. XXVIII-XXIX (as Nudo sdraiato, con le mani dietro la testa, New York, Proprieta private, n. 199, 60x92), p. 98 no. 199 (ill.), p.111 (listed under New York, private collection);
- Ceroni 1972. Ambrogio Ceroni, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Modigliani, intro. by Françoise Cachin (rev. ed. of Ceroni 1970, trans. by Simone Darses), Paris: Flammarion, 1972, color pl. XXVIII-XXIX (as Nu couché, les mains derrière la tête, New York, collection particulière, n. 199, 60x92cm), p. 98 no. 199 (ill.), p. 111 (owner listed as New York, private collection);
- Roy 1985. Claude Roy, Modigliani [Geneva: Skira, 1958], trans. James Emmons and Stuart Gilbert, New York: Rizzoli, 1985, pp. 79 (color ill., as Reclining Nude with hands behind her Head, 1917), 103 (color dtl), 156 (owner listed as Perls Galleries, NY);
GET PHOTOCOPY - Janet Hobhouse, "The World, the Flesh, and Modigliani," Connoisseur, vol. 215, July 1985, pp. 44-45 (color ill., spread) ;
- Ceroni (Angela) 1989. Angela Ceroni, Modigliani, Les nus, Paris: Bibliothèque des arts, 1989, pp. 82-83, no. 24 (color ill., as Nu couché, les mains derrière la tête, 1917, New York, Perls Galleries);
- Parisot 1990-91. Christian Parisot, Modigliani Catalogue Raisonné (2 vols.), vol. 2 (Peintures, Dessins, Aquarelles), Livorno: Graphis Arte, 1991, pp. 176 (ill.), 316 no. 40/1917 (as Nu couché, les mains derrière la tête, 1917, private collection);
GET PHOTOCOPY - June Rose, Modigliani, The Pure Bohemian, New York: St Martin Press, 1991, b&w ill. on half title page (not discussed) ;
- Patani 1991. Osvaldo Patani, Amedeo Modigliani: catalogo generale (3 vols.), vol. 1, Dipinti, Milan: Leonardo, 1991, p. 219, no. 208 (color ill., as Nudo sdraiato con le mani dietro la testa, 1917, Perls Galleries, New York).

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