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Artwork

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Year:
Theme: Portrait
ID 8 (Ceroni 212)
Boy in Sailor Suit
1917
Alternate titles: Garçon au col blanc; Jeune garçon; Portrait; Portrait d'un enfant en costume marin; Ragazzo con vestito alla marinara; Seated Boy
Oil on canvas
36 1/4 x 23 3/4 in. (92.1 x 60.3 cm)
Front, upper right: modigliani
Reverse no longer visible
Creation location: Paris
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia (BF369)
Provenance
Léon Zamaron, Paris1
Galerie Paul Guillaume, Paris2
Albert C. Barnes, Merion, Pennsylvania (by January 1923)3
1. See the Commentary below.
2. Jacques Lipchitz, Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920) (New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1954), pl. 64, ill. in b/w.
3. Barbara Buckley, Simonetta Fraquelli, Nancy Ireson, and Annette King, eds., Modigliani Up Close. Exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Barnes Foundation, 2022), 159.
Commentary

Modigliani painted two portraits of young models seated in what appears to be the same setting, which has a dark, rounded form—possibly a fireplace—in the background (the second one is Ceroni 213).1

The first owner of the painting was Léon Zamaron (1872–1955), the police commissioner in Paris who was known as an intrepid collector of modern art.2  By 1929, he had bought and sold a handful of paintings by Modigliani.3

Dr. Albert C. Barnes (1872–1951) acquired Boy in Sailor Suit from the art dealer Paul Guillaume (1891–1934) in 1923.4 That year Barnes purchased nine Modigliani paintings and a stone head, making him the most significant collector of the artist's work in the United States at that time.5 Records show that Boy in Sailor Suit was shipped to him in March, in time for inclusion in the exhibition of his collection at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, which opened the following month.6

Today, the Barnes Foundation owns twelve paintings, which makes it one of the largest public Modigliani collections in the world.7

Canvas information
Using digital X-ray images, automated thread count campaigns have identified paintings that were likely cut from the same bolt of canvas. This painting is part of Clique 2.8 The painting's ground color was identified as gray in the 2022 exhibition catalogue for Modigliani Up Close.9

  1. At one time Dr. Barnes owned Ceroni 212 and 213 and both paintings were shown as part of his collection in Philadelphia in April 1923. He sold 213 in 1928.
  2. Arthur Pfannstiel, Modigliani et son œuvre (Paris: Bibliotèque des Arts, 1956), no. 151, as Coll. C. [sic] Zamaron.
  3. Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Tableaux Modernes: Aquarelles et Dessins (Collection de M. Léon Z.) (June 9, 1920), lots 54–56. Zamaron sold three Modigliani paintings in the sale of his collection. Pfannstiel lists him as a former owner for at least two additional paintings. Arthur Pfannstiel, Modigliani: catalogue présumé (Paris: Éditions Marcel Seheur, 1929), 7, 27. 
  4. Barbara Buckley, Simonetta Fraquelli, Nancy Ireson, and Annette King, eds., Modigliani Up Close. Exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Barnes Foundation, 2022), 159.
  5. In addition to this painting, Barnes acquired Ceroni 60, 213, 214, 261, 294, 298, 309, 313, and the limestone sculpture known as Head (A249). In addition to Ceroni 213, he also later sold 214.
  6. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Exhibition of Contemporary European Paintings and Sculpture [Barnes Collection] (April 11–May 9, 1923). According to the checklist, there were seven Modigliani paintings, one titled Head and six titled Portrait.
  7. The Chester Dale Collection at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., also has twelve paintings, one of which is not included in Ceroni's 1970 catalogue.
  8. Don H. Johnson with Barbara Buckley and Annette King, “Thread Count Automation Project and the Study of Modigliani’s Canvases,” in Barbara Buckley, Simonetta Fraquelli, Nancy Ireson, and Annette King, eds., Modigliani Up Close. Exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Barnes Foundation, 2022), 305.
  9. Simonetta Fraquelli and Miriam Gillman, "Boy in Sailor Suit," in Barbara Buckley, Simonetta Fraquelli, Nancy Ireson, and Annette King, eds., Modigliani Up Close. Exh. cat. (Philadelphia: The Barnes Foundation, 2022), 156.
Exhibitions
1923 Paris
Galerie Paul Guillaume, Paris, La Barnes Foundation, January 22–February 5, 1923.
1923 Philadelphia
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Exhibition of Contemporary European Paintings and Sculpture [Barnes Collection], April 11–May 9, 1923, as Portrait.
Published References
Pfannstiel 1929
Pfannstiel, Arthur. Modigliani: catalogue présumé. Paris: Éditions Marcel Seheur, 1929. Monograph, Catalogue p. 25, as Garçon au col blanc.
Lipchitz 1954
Lipchitz, Jacques. Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920). New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1954, pl. 64, ill. in b/w, as Seated Boy, dated 1918.
Pfannstiel 1956
Pfannstiel, Arthur. Modigliani et son œuvre. Paris: Bibliotèque des Arts, 1956. Monograph, no. 151, as Garçon au col blanc, dated 1917–18.
Ceroni 1970
Ceroni, Ambrogio. I dipinti di Modigliani. Milan: Rizzoli Editore, 1970. Monograph, no. 212, p. 98, ill. in b/w, p. 99, as Ragazzo con vestito alla marinara.
Model
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Record last updated April 6, 2026. Please note that the information on this and all pages is periodically reviewed and subject to change.
Citation: Modigliani Initiative. "Boy in Sailor Suit, 1917 (ID 8)." In Amedeo Modigliani Digital Catalogue. catalogue.modigliani-initiative.org/catalogue/entry.php?id=8 (accessed on May 11, 2026).