October 31, 2023

Spotlight

Fernand Thibaut and Modigliani:
An Unexamined Friendship

Amedeo Modigliani, A Man, 1916, oil on canvas.
Detroit Institute of Arts, Bequest of Robert H. Tannahill, 70.186.

Our latest Spotlight story focuses on Fernand Thibaut, the Belgian artist who was Modigliani’s neighbor in the artists’ studios at Cité Falguière, near the Montparnasse neighborhood in Paris. Though Thibaut’s name has been forgotten, this talented graphic designer, illustrator, and maker of woodblock prints, carpets, and stained glass, lives on in his portraits by both Modigliani and Oscar Miestchaninoff. Learn how provenance research, combined with a little luck, made it possible to identify Modigliani’s model and friend. Access the story here.

News

The Modigliani Initiative at CAA

We are thrilled to announce that The Modigliani Initiative will be presenting at the Annual CAA (College Art Association) conference in Chicago in February 2024. In the session titled Catalogue Raisonné Scholarship Today, our topic is Modigliani's Legacy: Beyond the Catalogue Raisonné. Read more here. The session takes place on Friday, February 16th at 10am. Here is a link to register. We look forward to seeing you there!

Artists in Motion: The Pearlman Collection

The exhibition Artists in Motion: Modern Masterpieces from the Pearlman Collection is now on view at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach through February 18, 2024. The show explores the intersecting lives and journeys of celebrated late nineteenth and early twentieth-century European artists, including Modigliani. A richly illustrated digital catalogue, including essays and poems, can be accessed here.

Auction News

A number of early, graceful drawings by the artist formerly owned by Paul Alexandre, one of Modigliani’s first collectors and patrons, recently came up for sale at Sotheby’s Paris. A document with Modigliani’s inscription: "Ce que je cherche ce n'est pas le réel pas l'ireel non plus, mais l'Incoscient le mystère de l'Instinctivité de la Race" sold for the extraordinary price of 152,400 euros, against a pre-sale estimate of 300–500 euros. A link to the sale can be accessed here.

Please help us spread the word about The Modigliani Initiative. We are grateful for your support.

Leslie Koot I Julie Martin I Julia May Boddewyn

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