Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu couché (Reclining Nude) painted in 1917-18. Courtesy Christie’s Images Ltd., 2015. UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR $170,405,000
Amedeo Modigliani’s masterpiece Nu couché (Reclining Nude) – estimated to exceed $100 million – comes up at Christie’s in New York on Monday, November 9. The painting, executed in 1917-18, will be the centerpiece of a special curated evening sale of 20th century art focused on the theme of “The Artist’s Muse”.
It is one of a series of great female nudes made for Léopold Zboroswki that famously caused a scandal nearly a century ago when they were exhibited at Modigliani’s first and only one-man show at the Galerie Berthe Weill in Paris. Outraged by the content of this show — which caused a crowd to form outside the gallery window where one of Modigliani’s nudes was openly on display — the police demanded the immediate closure of the exhibition.
This is the first time this portrait has come to auction. It is poised to break the standing world auction record of $70.7 million for any work by Modigliani, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century.
