Amedeo Modigliani

Paul Guillaume, Paris
Corbelline Collection, Paris
A. Kleinmann, Paris
Ernest de Frenne, Paris
Paul Martin, Paris (President of the Comité Professionnel des Galeries d'Art; acquired from the above in July 1941; until at least 1948)
Otto Gerson Gallery, Inc., New York
Herbert Singer, New York (acquired from the above on 29th March 1961)
Thence by descent

The Art Journal, winter 1960-61, XX2, illustrated p. 73
Alfred Werner, Modigliani. The Sculptor, New York, 1962, illustrated pls. 34 & 35 (titled Caryatid Head)
Ambrogio Ceroni, Amedeo Modigliani, dessins et sculptures, Milan, 1965, no. X, illustrated pls. 50 & 51
Leone Piccioni & Ambrogio Ceroni, I dipinti di Modigliani, Milan, 1970, no. X, illustrated p. 107
John Lanthemann, Modigliani. Catalogue raisonné, Barcelona, 1970, no. 641, illustrated p. 319 (as dating from 1913)
Ambrogio Ceroni, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Modigliani, Paris, 1972, no. X, illustrated p. 107
Arnoldo Mondadori (ed.), Modigliani, gli anni della scultura, Vicenza, 1984, no. 7, illustrated
Osvaldo Patani, Amedeo Modigliani. Catalogo generale, sculture e disegni 1909-1914, Milan, 1992, no. 16, illustrated p. 55 (as dating from 1912)

Between 1909 and 1914 Modigliani devoted most of his creative effort to stone carvings and preparatory drawings, and considered himself primarily a sculptor. Having decided to work almost exclusively in stone and not in bronze, Modigliani executed only a small number of sculptures, and Tête is a rare example to have remained in a private collection to this day.

 

In his sculptural opus, Modigliani never abandoned the motif of the human figure, alternating between heads and caryatids. The allure of the present work lies in the juxtaposition of the stylised, elegant facial features and the rough treatment of the surface, a technique that shows an amalgamation of influences, from dance masks from the Ivory Coast and Khmer sculpture to ancient Egyptian and Greek art. Modigliani arrived in Paris at the time when tribal art was 'discovered' by avant-garde artists such as Picasso, who owned a collection of African sculpture that Modigliani may have seen. Even more influential was his meeting with Brancusi in 1909, who instilled in Modigliani the principles of direct carving as well as an economy of form.

 

Having met Modigliani in his studio in 1909, the German critic Curt Stoermer observed: 'He had a tremendous urge to make sculptures himself. Having ordered a large piece of sandstone to be placed in his studio, he cut directly into the stone. Just as there were times when he loved idleness and indulged in it with the greatest sophistication, there were also times when he plunged himself deep into work. He cut all his sculptures directly into the stone, never touching clay or plaster. He felt destined to be a sculptor. There were certain periods when this urge started, and thrusting all painting tools aside, he snatched up the hammer' (quoted in Alfred Werner, op. cit., p. XXI).