Works by Modigliani from the collection of Dr. Paul Alexandre are synonymous with quality. A close friend and advisor, Alexandre was also Modigliani’s principal patron and financial supporter before the war, purchasing in the space of only a few years hundreds of drawings and several major paintings. This extraordinary collection was hidden from public view until his death in 1968 and has come to be considered cherished provenance for any collector of the highly poetic artist’s work.
Right: AMEDEO MODIGLIANI, PORTRAIT DE PAUL ALEXANDRE, 1911-12, OIL ON CANVAS, SOLD: SOTHEBY’S, PARIS, JUNE 4, 2014, LOT 9 FOR $18,401,118
As with Picasso, who was also famously versatile across different media, there is a sense that one sees Modigliani’s mind at work on paper far more than canvas, as though witnessing his creative process first-hand. The extension of the sheet in the present work and the redoubled intensity of line in places only intensifies the sense that we are watching him carve directly out of paper. These effortlessly expressive and mesmeric drawings of his goddesses of stone led to some of the most coveted modern sculptures today, venerable idols of the avant-garde.
"He was the kind of increasingly rare collector in love with art in the deepest sense of the word, the joy and despair of researchers: joy because he kept intact works of indisputable authenticity, dating from the period of Modigliani’s beginnings; despair because he jealously protected the works and no one could claim to have seen the entire collection."
From the Collection of Paul Alexandre
