How are you?
Modigliani Institute Korea (MIK) is
currently introducing artworks of Amedeo Modigliani one by one every week.
The 71st work to introduce for this
week is “Portrait of Doctor Devaraigne” in 1917.
This work is an expressionist style
portrait and an oil painting on a canvas with the size of 55.3 x 46.7 cm, and
currently in private collection.
In this work, Modigliani has
uniquely signed twice, one as “modigliani” on the bottom right and the other as
“modigliani/1917” on the top right.
The model for this work is Doctor Devaraigne, whom Ambrogio Ceroni suggested as Modigliani's friend. There are three versions of Modigliani's paintings modeled him, of which there is another version that is almost identical in size and composition to this work. This work is owned by private collection, but another similar version is owned by the Evergreen House collection in Baltimore, and another Devaraigne’s painting having a completely different style is owned by the Emil Buhrle Collection in Zurich, Switzerland.
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| Portrait of Doctor Devaraigne, Evergreen House collection, Baltimore |
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| Portrait of Doctor Devaraigne, Emil Buhrle Collection, Zurich, Switzerland |
Comparing the two similar versions, this work is characterized by more pronounced contrast in the background compared to the other version, and the brushstroke is much lighter and smoother. Because of such brushstroke, this work shows a more intimate and accessible model’s appearance than other version.
The profession of the model depicted in this work was a doctor. Referencing that the period of this work’s completion is 1917 during World War I and the model is wearing an officer's military uniform, it seems that the model, Devaraigne, was working as a medical officer at the time.
The addition of “Doctor” to this work’s title seems to be
Modigliani's intention to reveal that the model's profession is a doctor. At
the time, it was not uncommon for doctors like Devaraigne, to be drafted or to
help the wounded of the battlefield. The reason why Modigliani portrayed
Devaraigne in a military uniform may be a symbol representing the painful
period of war at that time, or a suggestion of longing towards soldiers of
Modigliani, who was unable to join the army due to his health.
In this work, Modigliani drew a
model from a very close distance, which may be due to Modigliani's intention to
show his intimacy with the model. In addition, the appearance of the model in a
military uniform with curled moustache and neatly trimmed hair could have felt
a feeling of overbearing, making it difficult to accessible, but Modigliani's
unique style of almond-shaped eyes, a long nose and a button-shaped mouth makes
model's appearance in a mild and friendly way.
This work has an interesting provenance in the course on changes of owners. After its completion, this work was acquired by Modigliani's then-art dealer, Paul Guillaume, and then by the Bernheim Jeune Gallery in Paris.
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| Bernheim Jeune Gallery, Paris (1910) |
This work was then moved to the United States
and was sold to the legendary American composer George Gershwin at an auction
in 1934, and inherited by his brother and the lyricist, Ira Gershwin. Then, in
2004, this work was sold at Sotheby’s in New York, and is now in private
collection.
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| George Gershwin |
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| Ira Gershwin |
George Gershwin was a composer, a pianist,
and an iconic figure of American music, but he also worked as both a painter
and an art collector. As a painter, he produced more than 100 paintings,
drawings and photographs, including his most famous "Portrait of Arnold
Schoenberg," and collected more than 150 paintings, drawings, and
sculptures.
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| Portrait of Arnold Schoenberg, George Gershwin (1937) |
This work was one of several
Modigliani paintings he owned and was also his favorite. He liked Modigliani,
so he used the two-colored gray and orangey-red background, which is one of
characteristics of Modigliani paintings, as his own self-portrait background.
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| Self-Portrait, George Gershwin |
Thank you.
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