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Artwork

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Year:
Theme: Portrait
ID 37 (Ceroni 331)
Flower Vendor
1919
Alternate titles: Bildnis; Blumenverkäuferin; Fleuriste; Flower Girl; Giovane seduta (La Fioraia); Jeune femme assise (La marchande de fleurs); La Fioraia; La Fleuriste; La Marchande de fleurs; La Marchande des Quatre Saisons; La vendedora de fiores; La venditrice di fiori; Mädchenbildnis; Marchande de quatre saison; Seated Woman; The Flower Vendor
Oil on canvas
46 x 29 in. (116.8 x 73.7 cm)
Front, upper right: modigliani
Reverse not inscribed
Creation location: Paris, Modigliani residence: 8, rue de la Grande Chaumière
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Bequest of Florene M. Schoenborn, 1995. (1996.403.9)
Provenance
Louis Libaude, Paris (by 1922)1
Likely Germaine Libaude, Paris, by descent (1922)2
Galerie Bing et Cie, Paris (1925)…3
Constant Lepoutre, Paris (possibly by 1926)…4
Lecomte-Durey, Paris (in 1929)…5
Marthe Hatt Lederlin, Paris (by 1933)6
[Galerie Charpentier, Paris, Collection de Madame Lederlin, March 23, 1933, lot 136; bought in]
Marthe Hatt Lederlin, Paris7
Jos. Hessel, Paris (by November 1933)…8
Private collection, Zurich…9
Madame Marquiset, Paris (by 1950)10
Paul Rosenberg & Co., New York (June 12, 1950)11
Florene and Samuel Marx, Chicago (November 3, 1950)12
Florene May Marx, New York, by descent (1964)13
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, by bequest (1995)14
1. See the Commentary below.
2. Germaine Libaude Mareuse (dates unknown) was the only daughter of Louis Libaude (1869–1922) and she inherited artwork from her father's vast collection upon his death. Jean-Paul Crespelle, La Vie Quotidienne à Montmartre au temps de Picasso, 1900–1910 (Paris: Hachette littérature, 1978), 232.
3. Pfannstiel (1929), op. cit. The art dealer Henry Bing (1888–1965), in a letter to Paul Rosenberg dated June 18, 1950, recalled that the painting was sold by the "collection Libaude" in 1925. Because Bing showed it at his gallery that year, it seems that he may have acquired if from Mareuse at that time. "Purchases 1950," II. F. 25. The Paul Rosenberg Archives, A Gift of Elaine and Alexandre Rosenberg. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, NY.
4. Galerie Charpentier, Paris, Collection de Madame Lederlin (March 23, 1933), lot 136. Constant Lepoutre (?–1929), the framer and art dealer whose portrait was painted by Modigliani (Ceroni 156), is the only name listed in the provenance in the sale catalogue.
5. Pfannstiel (1929), op. cit. The individual or institution that Pfannstiel lists has not been confirmed. This might be a reference to René Durey (1890–1959), a painter and a friend of Modigliani's and his companion Germaine Lecomte (1889–1966), a seamstress; their ownership of the work cannot be confirmed.
6. Archives 162/33/10 vente du 23 mars 1933, Alphonse Bellier, fonds Guy Loudmer. Institut national d'histoire de l'art (INHA), Paris. Marthe Lederlin (née Hatt; 1882–1980), wife of the industrialist Paul Lederlin (1868–1949), was the consignor to the 1933 auction.
7. The painting was unsold and presumably returned to Mme. Lederlin after the sale.
8. Kunsthalle Basel, Modigliani. Exh. cat. (January 7–February 4, 1934), no. 36. The art dealer Jos. Hessel (1859–1942) was one of the experts of the 1933 sale and likely acquired the painting directly from Mme. Lederlin. He is listed as the lender to the 1934 Basel exhibition, which means he probably owned the painting by November 1933 when a version of the exhibition opened in Brussels. Hessel consigned the painting to the 1938 exhibition at Arthur Tooth & Sons in London. TGA20106-1-4-37_1938. Tooth Gallery records, Tate Archives, London.
9. Osvaldo Patani, Amedeo Modigliani: Catalogo Generale, Dipinti (Milan: Leonardo Editore, 1991), no. 343.
10. "Purchases 1950," II. F. 25. The Paul Rosenberg Archives, A Gift of Elaine and Alexandre Rosenberg. The Museum of Modern Art Archives, NY.
11. Metropolitan Museum of Art website.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. Ibid.
Commentary

Though the model's name is unknown, the painting was reproduced in 1925 as La Marchande de fleurs.1 She appears to have modeled for Modigliani in his studio at 8, rue de la Grande Chaumière. The ochre and chestnut-colored wall behind her, including the door with glass panel and wainscoting that matches the wood of the door, can be found in portraits that are confirmed to have been painted at this address after he returned from his stay in the South of France in the spring of 1919.2 It seems that Madame Amédée (Ceroni 282) and Girl in a Green Blouse (Ceroni 114) may also have been painted in this location.

The painting's first owner of record is Louis Libaude (1869–1922).3 According to the art dealer Berthe Weill (1865–1951), Libaude (aka Louis Lormel) was a speculator in Paris who began buying Modigliani's paintings from a variety of sources upon learning that the artist was gravely ill in January 1920.4 Libaude's own death in March 1922 meant that his brief ownership of these works went largely unrecorded in much of the early Modigliani literature. Libaude sold a number of works from his collection at auction in May 1920, including three Modigliani paintings, only one of which has been identified with certainty.5 This painting was not among those included in that sale.

  1. Waldemar George, "Modigliani." L'Amour de l'art: revue mensuelle (Paris) 6 (October 1925): 383.
  2. Ambrogio Ceroni, I dipinti di Modigliani (Milan: Rizzoli Editore, 1970), nos. 331, 333, 336.
  3. Arthur Pfannstiel, Modigliani: catalogue présumé (Paris: Éditions Marcel Seheur, 1929), 18.
  4. Berthe Weill, Pow! Right in the Eye! Thirty Years Behind the Scenes of Modern French Painting (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2022), 103. 
  5. Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Tableaux; aquarelles; pastels; dessins: Collection de M. L. Libaude (May 19, 1920).
Exhibitions
1925 Paris
Galerie Bing & Cie, Paris, Modigliani, October 24–November 15, 1925, no. 6, as La marchande de fleurs.
1926 Dresden
Staatliche Sammlungen, Städtischer Ausstellungspalast, Dresden, Germany, Internationale Kunst Ausstellung, June–September 1926, no. 196, as Blumenverkäuferin.
1933 Paris
Galerie Jean Charpentier, Paris, Les artistes italiens de Paris, September 19–29, 1933, no. 10, as Marchande de quatre saison.
1933 Brussels
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Modigliani, November 4–26, 1933, no. 44, as La marchande de fleurs, dated 1917.
1934 Basel
Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland, Modigliani, January 7–February 4, 1934, no. 36, as La marchande de fleurs, dated 1917.
1938a London
Arthur Tooth & Sons Ltd, London, Amedeo Modigliani, 1884–1920, March 17–April 9, 1938, no. 36, as La marchande de fleurs, dated 1917.
1950c New York
Rosenberg Galleries, New York, 20th Century French Paintings, November 13–December 2, 1950, no. 8, as Flower Vendor, dated 1917.
1951 Cleveland and New York
Cleveland Museum of Art, Modigliani: Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture, January 30–March 18, 1951, unnum., as The Flower Vendor, dated 1917. Traveled to: Museum of Modern Art, New York, April 11–June 10, 1951.
Published References
Durandeau 1925
Durandeau, J.-L. "Les Expositions Parisiennes: Exposition Modigliani." Le Crapouillot: Arts, Lettres, Spectacles (Paris) (December 1, 1925), ill. in b/w, p. 11 as Peinture de Modigliani.
George 1925
George, Waldemar. "Modigliani." L'Amour de l'art: revue mensuelle (Paris) 6 (October 1925), ill. in b/w, p. 383, as La Marchande de fleurs.
Gomez de la Mata 1926
Gomez de la Mata, Germán. "El Doliente Modigliani." La Esfera (Madrid) 3, no. 1 (1926), ill. in b/w, p. 20, as La vendedora de fiores.
Grohmann 1926
Grohmann, Will. "Die Kunst der Gegenwart auf der Internationalen Kunstaustellung Dresden 1926." Der Cicerone: Halbmonatsschrift für Künstler / Kunstfreunde und Sammler (Leipzig, Germany) 2 (1926), ill. in b/w, p. 391; mentioned p. 408, as Bildnis.
Salmon 1926
Salmon, André. Modigliani: Sa vie et son œuvre. Paris: Éditions des Quatres Chemins, 1926. Monograph, pl. 12, ill. in b/w, as La Fleuriste, dated 1917.
Scheiwiller 1927
Scheiwiller, Giovanni. Amedeo Modigliani. Milan: La Libreria Ulrico Hoepli, 1927. Monograph, unnum. pl., ill. in b/w, as La Fioraia, dated 1917.
Scheiwiller 1928
Scheiwiller, Giovanni. Modigliani. Paris: Éditions des Chroniques du Jour, 1928. Monograph, pl. I, ill. in b/w, as La Marchande de fleurs, dated 1917.
Pfannstiel 1929
Pfannstiel, Arthur. Modigliani: catalogue présumé. Paris: Éditions Marcel Seheur, 1929. Monograph, Catalogue p. 18 and 36?; ill. in b/w, n.p. (opp. p. 91), as La Marchande de fleurs, dated 1917.
Basler 1930a
Basler, Adolphe. "Modigliani." Kunst und Künstler: Illustrierte Monatsschrift für Bildende Kunst (Berlin) (March–April 1930), ill. in b/w, p. 359, as Mädchenbildnis.
Taguchi 1932
Taguchi, Shogo. Modigliani. Tokyo: Atelier-sha, 1932. Monograph, no. 13, ill. in b/w, as La Marchande de fleurs.
M.P. 1933
M.P. "Les artistes italiens exposent à Paris." Le Courrier du Pas-de-Calais (Paris), September 29, 1933, ill. in b/w (as a caricature), p. 5.
Aprà 1945
Aprà, Nietta. Tormento di Modigliani. Milan: Casa Editrice Bietti, 1945. Monograph, ill. in b/w, n.p., as La venditrice di fiori, dated 1917.
Offin 1950
Offin, Charles Z. "Gallery Previews in New York." Pictures on Exhibit (New York) 13, no. 2 (November 1950), ill. in b/w, p. 17, as Flower Vendor.
Life 1952
"Chicago's Fabulous Collectors: Marxes' Moderns." Arnold Newman photographs. Life (Chicago) 33, no. 17 (October 27, 1952), ill. in color (in situ), p. 92, as Flower Girl.
Pfannstiel 1956
Pfannstiel, Arthur. Modigliani et son œuvre. Paris: Bibliotèque des Arts, 1956. Monograph, no. 122, as La marchande de fleurs, dated 1917.
Roy 1958
Roy, Claude. Modigliani. James Emmons and Stuart Gilbert, trans. New York: Skira, 1958. Monograph, ill. in color, p. 73, as The Flower Vendor, dated 1917.
Ceroni 1965
Ceroni, Ambrogio. Amedeo Modigliani: Dessins et Sculptures, avec suite du catalogue illustré des peintures. Milan: Edizioni del Milione, 1965. Monograph, no. 218, ill. in b/w, as Jeune femme assise (La marchande de fleurs).
Ceroni 1970
Ceroni, Ambrogio. I dipinti di Modigliani. Milan: Rizzoli Editore, 1970. Monograph, no. 331, p. 105, ill. in b/w, as Giovane seduta (La Fioraia).
Record last updated April 12, 2026. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Modigliani Initiative. "Flower Vendor, 1919 (ID 37)." In Amedeo Modigliani Digital Catalogue. catalogue.modigliani-initiative.org/catalogue/entry.php?SystemID=8 (accessed on May 11, 2026).