Amedeo Modigliani

Dr. Paul Alexandre, Paris (acquired directly from the artist)
Private Collection (by descent from the above and sold: Sotheby's, London, February 6, 2002, lot 140)
Acquired at the above sale

Venice, Palazzo Grassi; London, The Royal Academy; Montreal, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal; Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts & travelling, The Unknown Modigliani, Drawings from the Collection of Paul Alexandre, 1993-96, no. 409, illustrated in the catalogue

Carol Mann, Modigliani, London, 1980, no. 23, n.p.
Osvaldo Patani, Amedeo Modigliani, Catalogo Generale, Disegni 1906-1920 con i disegni provenienti dalla collezione Paul Alexandre (1906-1914), Milan, 1994, no. 775, illustrated p. 349

Executed on cream colored wove paper hinged to a mat at top edge on verso. Left edge is deckled; bottom right corner is rounded. Paul Alexandre estate stamp and inventory number at extreme lower right corner. Some studio stains to the sheet, most noticeably to the left of the figure's head and to the right of the figure's torso. Small crease at extreme lower left corner. Six minor dots along extreme top edge on recto and verso which correspond to the removal of a prior mounting, otherwise fine. This work is in very good condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work is one in a series of drawings Modigliani made of his first and perhaps most important patron, Dr. Paul Alexandre. These drawings, in which the young doctor assumes more or less the same pose, appear to be studies for the three majestic portraits painted of Alexandre in 1909. After meeting the bohemian Italian artist in 1907, Alexandre commissioned him to execute portraits of his father and brother before sitting himself. The deep friendship that emerged between Modigliani and his young patron resulted in Alexandre's amassing of an astonishing collection of the artist’s works over the course of the five years in which Modigliani was associated with the Alexandre family. The preservation of the many paintings and drawings from Alexandre’s incredible personal collection, little-known to the public until after his death in 1968, permits a greater understanding of the masterful technique and skill of an artist for whom so few works remain today. Whether in stone or on paper, Modigliani’s undeniably great portraits express, in a manner similar to that of his peers Matisse and Picasso, a novel sensitivity to his sitters, in which the artist transcends the mere naturalistic representation of the model in order to better embody him or her. With confident, vigorous strokes, Modigliani conveys the self-possessed and poised manner of the young doctor with whom he shared such a deep bond.