Modigliani’s celebrated series of reclining nudes, begun in 1916, is influenced by Italian Renaissance representations of Venus and other idealized female figures. In this painting from 1917, the model’s stylized, outlined body, seen close-up and from above, spans the entire canvas; her hands and feet disappear outside the frame and her creamy skin glows against the dark red bed or couch. Unlike depictions of Venus from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century, in which female nudity is couched in mythology or allegory, Modigliani provocatively presents his Reclining Nude without any such context, highlighting the painting’s eroticism.
Credit Line:The Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls Collection, 1997
Object Number:1997.149.9
Inscription: Signed (upper right): modigliani
Leopold Zborowski, Paris (1920–26); Georges Menier, Paris (1926–probably until d. 1933); his son, Claude Menier, Paris (probably until at least 1958); [Galerie Mouradian-Vallotton, Paris]; [Perls Galleries, New York, by 1960; stock no. 6254]; Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, New York (until 1997; their gift to MMA)
Paris. Galerie Charpentier. "Cent tableaux de Modigliani," April–May 1958, no. 48 (as "Nu étendu," lent by a private collection).
Marseilles. Musée Cantini. "Modigliani," June 10–July 27, 1958, not in catalogue [added to the checklist as "Nu étendu," 1917, lent by a private collection].
New York. Perls Galleries. "Major Recent Acquisitions," January 19–March 5, 1960, unnumbered cat. (as "Nu Couché," 1918).
New York. Perls Galleries. "Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920)," October 29,1963–December 7, 1963, no. 17 (as "Nu Couché," 1918, lent anonymously).
New York. Perls Galleries. "The Nudes of Modigliani," October 11–November 12, 1966, no. 1 (as "Nu Couché," 1918, lent anonymously).
New York. Acquavella Galleries. "Amedeo Modigliani," October 14–November 13, 1971, no. 37 (as "Nu couché," 1918, lent by Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls).
New York. Perls Galleries. "Amedeo Modigliani," November 14–December 16, 1972, no catalogue [probably this picture; see Refs. Mellow 1972, Hancock 1973].
Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. "Amedeo Modigliani, 1884–1920," March 26–June 28, 1981, no. 51 (as "Nu couché, les mains derrière la tête," 1917, lent by Perls Galleries, New York).
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. "Modigliani, an Anniversary Exhibition," December 11, 1983–March 18, 1984, extended to April 22, 1984, unnum. brochure (as "Nude," 1918, lent by Perls Galleries, New York).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Painters in Paris: 1895–1950," March 8–December 31, 2000, extended to January 14, 2001, unnumbered cat. (p. 86).
Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art. "Picasso and the School of Paris: Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," September 14–November 24, 2002, no. 34.
Tokyo. Bunkamura Museum of Art. "Picasso and the School of Paris: Paintings from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," December 7, 2002–March 9, 2003, no. 34.
Toronto. Art Gallery of Ontario. "Modigliani: Beyond the Myth," October 23, 2004–January 23, 2005, not in catalogue.
Washington, D. C. Phillips Collection. "Modigliani: Beyond the Myth," February 19–May 29, 2005, not in catalogue.
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. "The Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920," February 4–May 6, 2007, no. 130.
Berlin. Neue Nationalgalerie. "Französische Meisterwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts aus dem Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York," June 1–October 7, 2007, unnumbered cat. (p. 259).
Madrid. Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza. "Modigliani y su tiempo," February 5–May 18, 2008, no. 109.
Vienna. Albertina Museum. "Modigliani: The Primitivist Revolution," September 17, 2021–January 9, 2022, no. 38.
Philadelphia. Barnes Foundation. "Modigliani Up Close," October 16, 2022–January 29, 2023, no. 24.
O. L. "Gemälde von Modigliani." Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration 56 (July 1925), ill. p. 208, as "Liegender Akt".
André Salmon. Modigliani: Sa vie et son œuvre. Paris, 1926, pl. 8, as "Femme endormie," 1917, collection G. Meunier [sic].
Giovanni Scheiwiller. Amedeo Modigliani. Milan, 1927, pl. [4] [French ed., 1928, pl. 3], dates it 1917 and locates it in the collection of G. Meunier, Paris [sic]; French edition lists collection Ch. Meunier.
Arthur Pfannstiel. Modigliani. Paris, 1929, ill. opp. p. 98; catalogue présumé, pp. 20–21, as "Nu couché," 1917, in the collection of G. Meunier, Paris [sic].
Michel Georges-Michel. Les Montparnos: Roman. Paris, 1929, ill. p. 223.
Seigo Taguchi. Modigliani. Tokyo, 1936, pl. 9.
Vincenzo Costantini. Architettura, scultura, pittura, contemporanea Europea in un secolo di materialismo. Milan, 1951, ill. p. 259, as "Donna addormentata".
Raffaele Carrieri. Avant-Garde Painting and Sculpture (1890–1955) in Italy. 2nd rev. ed. (1st ed., Italian, 1950). Milan, 1955, pl. 102, as "Donna addormentata" in the Meunier [sic] collection, Paris.
Arthur Pfannstiel. Modigliani et son œuvre. Paris, 1956, p. 98, no. 132, as "Nu couché" in the collection of G. Menier, Paris.
Ambrogio Ceroni. Amedeo Modigliani, peintre: Suivi des "souvenirs' de Lunia Czechowska. Milan, 1958, p. 64, no. 130, ill., as "Nu couché (au bras derrière la tête)," 1918; locates it in a private collection, Paris.
Jeanne Modigliani. Modigliani sans légende. Paris, 1961, pl. 52, as "Nu étendu" in the caption and "Nu couché" in the list of plates; dates it 1918; locates it in a private collection, Paris.
Alfred Werner. Amedeo Modigliani. New York, [1966], fig. 52, as "Reclining Nude," 1918, in a private collection, New York.
John Canaday. "Art: Modigliani's Nudes, a Charming Sisterhood." New York Times (October 15, 1966), ill. p. 24.
Ambrogio Ceroni. I dipinti di Modigliani. Milan, 1970, p. 98, no. 199, ill. and colorpl. XXVIII–XXIX [French ed., 1972], dates it 1917 and locates it in a private collection, New York.
J[oseph]. Lanthemann. Modigliani, 1884–1920, catalogue raisonné: Sa vie, son Oeuvre complet, son art. Barcelona, 1970, p. 117, no. 153, ill. p. 200, calls it "Nu couché (les bras derrière la tête)" and dates it 1916.
Joseph Masheck in "New York." Artforum 10 (December 1971), pp. 84–85, ill.
James R. Mellow. "Modigliani." New York Times (December 3, 1972), p. D21 [probably this picture], describes "Nu coucheé," 1918 in a Modigliani exhibition at the Perls Galleries [Exh. New York 1972].
Marianne Hancock. "Gallery Reviews." Arts Magazine 47 (February 1973), p. 83 [probably this picture], describes "Nu couché" in Exh. New York 1972.
Claude Roy. Modigliani. 2nd rev. ed [1st ed., 1958]. New York, 1985, p. 156, ill. pp. 79 (color) and 103 (detail), as "Reclining Nude with Hands Behind her Head," 1917, Perls Galleries, New York.
Janet Hobhouse. "The World, the Flesh, and Modigliani." Connoisseur 215 (July 1985), pp. 5, 44–45, ill. (color), calls it "Recumbent Nude, Hands behind Her Head" and dates it 1917–18.
Gaston Diehl. Modigliani. rev. ed. [1st ed., 1969]. New York, 1989, pp. 72, 78, ill. p. 92 (color), as "Reclining Nude, Hands Behind Her Head," 1918, in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Klaus G. Perls, New York.
Angela Ceroni. Modigliani: Les Nus. Paris, 1989, pp. 82–83, no. 24, ill. (color), as "Nu couché, les mains derrière la tête," 1917, Perls Galleries, New York.
June Rose. Modigliani: The Pure Bohemian. London, 1990, ill., half title page (color), dates it 1918.
Osvaldo Patani. Amedeo Modigliani: Catalogo generale. Vol. 1, Dipinti. Milan, 1991, p. 219, no. 208, ill. (color), calls it "Nudo sdraiato con le mani dietro la testa," dates it 1917, and locates it in the Perls Galleries, New York.
Christian Parisot. Modigliani: Catalogue raisonné. Ed. Giorgio and Guido Guastalla. Vol. 2, Peintures, dessins, aquarelles. Livorno, 1991, p. 316, no. 40/1917, ill. p. 176, calls it "Nu couché (les mains derrière la tête)" and locates it in a private collection.
J[ason]. E[dward]. K[aufman]. "Perls Adds Gems to the Met." Art Newspaper no. 61 (July–August 1996), p. 14.
Carol Vogel. "Met is Given 13 Works Worth Over $60 Million." New York Times (May 20, 1996), pp. C11–C12.
Sabine Rewald in "Recent Acquisitions. A Selection: 1996–1997." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 55 (Fall 1997), p. 73, ill. (color), dates it 1918.
Emily Braun inModigliani and His Models. Exh. cat., Royal Academy of Arts. London, 2006, p. 63 n. 20, lists it among 22 reclining nudes painted between 1916–19.
Sabine Rewald inThe Masterpieces of French Painting from The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1800–1920. Exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. New York, 2007, pp. 174–75, 236, no. 130, ill. (color and bw), discusses it as part of a series of thirty reclining nudes begun in 1916.
Sabine Rewald inMasterpieces of European Painting, 1800–1920, in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 2007, pp. 206–7, 277–78, no. 191, ill. (color and bw).
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York, 2012, p. 402, ill. (color).
Robert Brown. "The Great Beauty: Modigliani, 'Nu Couché' and the Grand Tradition of the Female Nude." Amedeo Modigliani: "Nu Couché". Ed. Robert Brown. New York, 2015, p. 33, ill. p. 21 (color), calls it "Nu couché, les mains derrière la tête".
Fiammetta Luino. "Modigliani and the Zborowski Nudes." Amedeo Modigliani: "Nu Couché". Ed. Robert Brown. New York, 2015, p. 64, ill. p. 86 (color), calls it "Nu couché, les mains dernière la tête" in the text and "Nu couché, les mains derrière la tête" in the caption.
Kathryn Calley Galitz. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Masterpiece Paintings. New York, 2016, p. 523, ill. (color), colorpl. 441.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York, 2019, p. 402, ill. (color).
Marc Restellini inModigliani: The Primitivist Revolution. Ed. Marc Restellini. Exh. cat., Albertina Museum. Vienna, 2021, pp. 78, 212, no. 38, ill. p. 94 (color).
Silvia Centeno et al. inModigliani Up Close. Ed. Barbara Buckley et al. Exh. cat., Barnes Foundation. Philadelphia, 2022, pp. 136–39, no. 24, ill. (color, overall), figs. 1–6b (color details, X-radiograph and photomicrograph imagery).
Barbara Buckley and Martha Lucy inModigliani Up Close. Ed. Barbara Buckley et al. Exh. cat., Barnes Foundation. Philadelphia, 2022, p. 127 n. 2, p. 143 n. 6.
Vivien Greene and Lena Stringari inModigliani Up Close. Ed. Barbara Buckley et al. Exh. cat., Barnes Foundation. Philadelphia, 2022, p. 128.
Anaïs Genty-Vincent and Marie-Amélie Senot inModigliani Up Close. Ed. Barbara Buckley et al. Exh. cat., Barnes Foundation. Philadelphia, 2022, pp. 132, 134.
Barbara Buckley and Simonetta Fraquelli inModigliani Up Close. Ed. Barbara Buckley et al. Exh. cat., Barnes Foundation. Philadelphia, 2022, p. 66.
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