16 3/4 x 10 1/4 ins
Modigliani’s admiration for the serene beauty and quiet strength of the Buddhist sculptures he saw at the Musée Guimet is evident in this otherworldly drawing.
The sculptor Jacob Epstein remembers seeing Modigliani’s studio filled with nine or ten elongated carved heads and one figure. ‘At night’, recalled Epstein, ‘he would place candles on the top of each one and the effect was that of a primitive temple.’ According to his dealer Paul Guillaume, Modigliani dreamt of creating a temple to mankind.
The caryatid was a supporting feature in classical Greek architecture – the caryatid figures in the Erechtheion at the Acropolis being wonderful examples. Modigliani with his mystical mind perhaps thought of the Greek god Atlas condemned to support the sky on his back and created his own symbolic caryatids whose beauty would save the world.
Modigliani’s admiration for the serene beauty and quiet strength of the Buddhist sculptures he saw at the Musée Guimet is evident in this otherworldly drawing.
The sculptor Jacob Epstein remembers seeing Modigliani’s studio filled with nine or ten elongated carved heads and one figure. ‘At night’, recalled Epstein, ‘he would place candles on the top of each one and the effect was that of a primitive temple.’ According to his dealer Paul Guillaume, Modigliani dreamt of creating a temple to mankind.
The caryatid was a supporting feature in classical Greek architecture – the caryatid figures in the Erechtheion at the Acropolis being wonderful examples. Modigliani with his mystical mind perhaps thought of the Greek god Atlas condemned to support the sky on his back and created his own symbolic caryatids whose beauty would save the world.
Provenance
Dr Paul Alexandre, Paris [acquired from the artist]Thence by descent to the present owner
Exhibitions
Modigliani Unmasked, The Jewish Museum, New York, Sep 2017 – Feb 2018Publications
The Unknown Modigliani, by Noël Alexandre, Mercatorfonds, 1993. Page 203 [No. 115]Modigliani Unmasked: Drawings from the Paul Alexandre Collection, Published in conjunction with the exhibition at The Jewish Museum, New York, September 15, 2017 - February 4 2018, Yale University Press. Page 76