Amedeo Modigliani
Portrait de Paul Alexandre, 1911-12 (5-8 million). Copyright: Sotheby’s/ArtDigital Studio UPDATE: THIS SOLD FOR 13,537,500
A Modigliani portrait of his major patron Paul Alexandre comes up at Sotheby’s in Paris on June 4. Never before on the market it portrays his patron during the seven years after his arrival in France in 1907. It dates from 1911-12. It has remained in the ownership of Paul Alexandre’s descendants to this day. Alexandre was Modigliani’s confidant, mentor and patron from his arrival in Paris until his conscription in 1914. The painting is estimated at 5-8 million.
It is one of Modigliani’s five portraits of Alexandre (two of which are in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen). It was painted just after the death of Paul Alexandre’s mother, in dull tones and imbued with poignant melancholy. The picture has never left Paul Alexandre’s family, is in perfect condition, and boasts powerful paintwork, notably to the face and hands. It is one of the most individual and compelling Modigliani male portraits ever to appear at auction.