About the Catalogue
Methodology/User Guide
ID Number/Ceroni Number
Each work has been assigned a unique ID number that is strictly for reference. Ceroni’s numbers, which are generally sequenced by the year of the painting’s completion, are included for reference and are searchable.
Title/Alternate Titles
Titles designated by the institutions that own the artworks have been maintained as the primary title of a work. “Alternate Titles” list the variants and foreign language translations published in exhibition catalogues, checklists, articles, or reviews. All title variants follow the exact spelling and style as printed in the source document and misspellings are identified with "[sic]." Alternate titles are searchable in the Artworks Search field.
Date
Dates designated by the institutions that own the artworks have been maintained as the primary date of a work. In several cases these are inscribed on the canvas and are noted in Signatures/Inscriptions. If new research has uncovered information that affects the given date, this is noted in the Commentary.
Medium and Support
Medium and support are catalogued as they appear on the institution’s website.
Dimensions
Dimensions are given in inches followed by centimeters in parentheses and are from the institution.
Signature/Inscription
This section documents the signature and other inscriptions in the artist's hand that appear on the front and reverse of a painting. Modigliani typically signed his works with what appears to be a lower case “m,” which is apparent when compared with instances where he capitalized the “M.” If there is no discernible signature on the work, this is indicated as “unsigned.” Modigliani’s inscriptions, usually the name of the model but in several instances the creation location, are recorded as they appear: all capital letters; an arbitrary mix of upper and lower case letters; a reversed letter; missing letters, which are added in brackets; and if the inscription is written vertically.
If a painting has been lined or any other type of permanent backing has prevented the institution from inspecting the reverse for inscriptions, this is noted as “Reverse no longer visible.” If the reverse is temporarily obscured and could be examined in the future, this is noted as “Reverse information not available.”
Signature and inscription locations are recorded as they appear on the work’s surface, from left to right, top to bottom, with those locations written out in full. Inscriptions in multiple locations are separated by semicolons and line breaks are indicated by forward slashes that include spaces on either side ( / ).
Creation Location
Based on what can be confirmed about Modigliani’s whereabouts and incorporating stylistic and technical details, the creation location field provides information about the work’s likely creation location. In some instances, the models’ recollections about the experience enable us to confirm the exact address where a work was painted. Modigliani arrived in Paris in 1906 and lived there until March 1918, when his worsening health and the intensification of World War I forced the artist and a small group of friends to flee the capital and relocate to the South of France. They originally settled in Cagnes-sur-Mer before moving to Nice in July 1918; Modigliani remained in that city until May 1919, when he returned to Paris, where he lived until his death in January 1920.
Provenance
The provenance section records all known owners of a work, as well as any intermediaries, such as galleries, private dealers, agents, and auctions houses that were involved in a sale or other form of transfer. Ownership and consignments are listed in chronological order beginning with the earliest transaction after the artist, whose name is not included in the provenance entries. In many cases, the earliest owner cannot be confirmed with certainty due to the absence of extant records. If the literature has confirmed that the work was a gift, consignment, or was purchased directly from the artist, this information is included. All entries have endnotes that disclose the sources of the information. The present owner is listed at the end of the entry, and the collection credit line appears at the end of the tombstone.
The names and locations that appear in the entries are those by which the collector, gallery, dealer, or institution was referred and at which they were located at the time of acquisition. In some instances, an owner’s birth name is added within brackets to confirm their relationship to the previous owner. Owner details are followed by the acquisition date when known, which appears in parentheses.
Consignments are listed in square brackets with the date of possession when known. If information about the consigned work’s location is known from its inclusion in an exhibition but the exact date of the consignment is unknown, the date is preceded with “by”:
[Valentine Gallery, New York (by April 1936)]
Auction sales appear in square brackets and include the name of the auction house at the time of the transaction, the city, sale name, date of sale, and lot number. If the lot was not sold, the results such as “withdrawn” or “bought in” are noted when known:
[Hôtel Drouot, Paris, Tableaux modernes, November 5, 1936, lot 93; bought in]
When the buyer’s name is known, this is recorded in the next line of the provenance. In some instances, auction records include the name of the agent who acted on behalf of a collector.
A gap between owner entries where a transaction cannot be confirmed is indicated by an ellipsis at the end of the entry:
Domenica Guillaume, Paris, by descent (1934) . . .
Carroll Carstairs Gallery, New York (by 1949)
If our research findings strongly suggest that a work was with an individual or gallery or was included in an auction although the known documentation cannot confirm this with certainty, the entry is preceded by "Likely.” “Possibly” signifies that collecting patterns suggest ownership or consignment, but cannot be confirmed to conclusively establish the ownership/consignment:
Likely Meric Callery, Paris (by 1942)
Information about notable first or early owners of a work are typically discussed in the Commentary, which appears below the Provenance section. Biographical information about subsequent owners appears in the endnotes in the Provenance.
The Collections section includes all names that appear in the provenance records in the AMDC. A search in this field allows users to identify all works that currently are or once were associated with that individual or institution.
The sort function at the top of the page allows users to sort Collection entries by the name of the collector, gallery, auction house, or agent, or by the city in which they were located at the time of the transaction. In addition, using the filter options at left, the Collections can be filtered by Type, Ownership History, and Country. To begin a new filter, cancel the existing filter by clicking “remove” in the yellow box at the top of this area.
Within a Collections record, users can choose how to view the works. Icons at the top right offer several formats: thumbnail gallery, relative size, and list format with images with or without images.
Commentary
Based on the research conducted by the Modigliani Initiative and by collaborating scholars, this section provides additional details about the artwork, including the identity of the model and information about the creation location, and whether our research suggests a date that differs from that which is currently assigned to the work. Commentaries feature information about the earliest known owner of a work and about important early exhibitions. The theories presented here are intended to foster further dialogue.
Exhibitions
Catalogued here are solo and group exhibitions that are either known to have or believed to have included paintings that are in the current iteration of the AMDC, up to and including 1958, the year that Ceroni published his first catalogue. Exhibitions are listed in chronological order within the catalogue entry, beginning with the earliest, and solo exhibitions are identified as such. The individual components of an exhibition listing (if known or applicable) are documented in the following order: name of organizing venue, city and/or country, exhibition title, and dates. Exhibitions that traveled are indicated with the citation “Traveled to” followed by information about the additional venues, dates, and, if applicable, catalogue or checklist information.
Exhibition catalogues are not included in the Literature section of the AMDC rather the details about the published information of a work appears within its Exhibition record. A catalogue is defined as a multi-page, often-illustrated publication, whereas a brochure typically consists of a single sheet of paper folded in half, providing basic details about the exhibition and a checklist. A brochure can include one or more reproductions. A checklist is a list of titles of the works that were shown. Checklists may be published, such as in a magazine, or unpublished, in which case they have been obtained through archival research.
If a painting is listed and/or reproduced in an exhibition catalogue, the catalogue number and illustration information is provided and indicates if the image is in black and white (ill. in b/w) or color (ill. in color), along with, when applicable, identifying numbers such as plates (pl.), figures (fig.), and pages (p. or pp.). The title of the work is catalogued as it appears and the date is noted if it varies from that which is currently assigned to the painting.
If an exhibited work has not been conclusively identified but there is strong possibility based on provenance or other known information, it is noted as “possibly” or “probably”:
PROBABLY Nude, 1917 (ID 56 / Ceroni 186) no. 13, as La femme dormant
When a painting’s inclusion in an exhibition is certain but its catalogue number cannot be confirmed because several works in the exhibition were given the same title, then “possibly” or “probably” appears in parentheses after the catalogue number:
no. 2 (possibly), as Nu couché.
When multiple works with the same title were included in the exhibition, the other possible catalogue numbers are listed in parentheses:
no. 17 (or 18, 30, 31), as Nu.
Once an Exhibition record has been selected from the list, users can choose how to view the works within that record. Icons at right offer several formats: thumbnail gallery, relative size, and list format with or without images.
The sort function at the top of the page allows users to sort Exhibition entries by year, venue, country, or city. In addition, exhibitions can be filtered by Type, Decade, Country, and Publication. See the filter options at left. To select a new filter, cancel the existing filter by clicking “remove” in the yellow box at the top of this area.
Literature
The Literature section documents when a work is illustrated and/or mentioned in a publication. Sources include books, articles, and reviews published in journals, magazines, newspapers; monographs are identified as such. The Literature section does not include exhibition catalogues. References are listed in alphabetical order by their abbreviations, which are comprised of the author or journal’s name and year of publication. Within the catalogue entry, literature appears in chronological order, beginning with the earliest reference in which the work is included. Specific page numbers for illustrations and mentions appear at the end of each citation (p. or pp.). Illustration information records whether or not an illustration is reproduced in black and white (ill. in b/w) or color (ill. in color); and, when applicable, identifying numbers such as plates (pl.) or figures (fig.); whether or not the illustration is a detail, installation view (noted as “in situ”), or displays an error in the identification of a work; and titles.
When an author or journal published more than a single book or article in a given year, then lower case letters are added to the year in order for the records to be listed chronologically:
de Ridder 1929a
de Ridder 1929b
Once a Literature record has been selected from the list, users can choose how to view the works within that record. Icons at right offer several formats: thumbnail gallery, relative size, and list format with or without images.
The sort function at the top of the page allows users to sort Literature entries by abbreviation or by year of publication. In addition, Literature can be filtered by Type and Decade. See the filter options at left. To select a new filter, cancel the existing filter by clicking “remove” in the yellow box at the top of this area.
Filters
Filters allow users to customize groupings of works in the catalogue. Along the left edge of the main Artworks page, select one or more filter options from the drop-down menus of the different categories to cross-reference works. For example, selecting a Year and a Canvas size will retrieve those works that meet the selected criteria. To begin a new filter, cancel the existing filter by clicking “remove” in the box at the top of this area or by unclicking the selection(s). A filter can be saved as a link by click “permalink” in the “Selected filter” box. Relevant filter categories can also be found under the image on an artwork’s entry page. Click the filter here to find the other works that meet the same criteria.
Year
Users can filter the works by the year assigned by the institution. For those works with a range of dates, such as “1915–16,” the work will appear in both 1915 and 1916.
Creation Location
This information is based on research by the Modigliani Initiative. The options are Paris and the South of France. Within each, there are exact addresses when known or, in the case of the South of France, the options are Cagnes-sur-Mer or Nice, where the artist lived for over a year between 1918 and 1919.
Theme
Users can select from the list of themes: Portrait, Nude, Landscape.
Model
The names of the models that have been identified are listed alphabetically by first name or by the first name of the title, such as Madame Amédée, which appears under “M.” Under “Unidentified” are several models whose names are unknown, but whose likeness is recognizable in more than one painting.
Canvas size
Most of Modigliani’s paintings can be classified by French standard canvas size, which are available in Portrait, Paysage (Landscape), and Marine. In AMDC these classifications are based on the dimensions available on the institution’s website and may have changed from the original. Technical analyses have confirmed cases when the canvas size may have changed if a work was restretched and mounted onto a new strainer. When the work’s dimensions do not match a standard size, it is identified as “irregular.” In some cases, Modigliani painted on board and these works are identified here as “not on canvas.”
Canvas info
Since 2017, campaigns to analyze Modigliani’s paintings have produced results that are informative about the artist’s materials and techniques. This information has either been published online or in exhibition catalogues and these references are provided at the end of this section.
Reused canvas: Modigliani often reused canvases and either painted over another artist’s composition or one of his own works. X-rays have revealed earlier compositions in a number of paintings.
Clique: Using digital X-ray images, an automated thread count campaign has identified paintings that were likely cut from the same bolt of canvas. These groupings of paintings that have identical canvas thread counts and anomalies in weave regularity are known as Cliques.
Ground color: Modigliani experimented with his choice of color for the preparatory layer(s) of his paintings, referred to as the ground color. If this information has been published or was shared with the Modigliani Initiative by the institution, this source is noted in the record.
Painted frame: A common feature found in several of the artist’s paintings is a frame-like painted border around the composition, which is typically but not consistently black. While this device was likely used for the sizing of the canvas in the absence of a wooden strainer, at least one work, Lola de Valence, is on paper, so the purpose of the frame in this instance is unclear.
Bookmarks
Bookmarks allow users to save records within the catalogue for future reference. Click the flag icon to save a particular work, collection, exhibition, or literature reference from the index pages or on the entry page itself. View all saved bookmarks by clicking on the icon to the right of the bookmark function. If a link does not appear, then no bookmarks have been saved.
Searches
The Search box at the upper left on the main page or the upper right on the page of a record (identified with a search icon) is for searching a single section only. The box can be toggled to search through other sections of the AMDC.
Printing and Citing
Each entry from Artworks, Collections, Exhibitions, and Literature can be printed by clicking the printer icon at top right. The correct citation for the AMDC appears at the bottom of the record’s page and includes the URL and the date it was accessed.
External Links
Near the bottom of each Artwork page is the external link to the work on its institution's website. In addition, external links to exhibition catalogues, literature, and relevant websites have been added to the endnotes of the Commentaries and provenance records when available. Relevant links can also be found in Exhibitions and Literature.
Model
The Model filter can also be found at the bottom of the Artwork page, where portraits in the current iteration of the AMDC that feature the same model all appear.
