Modi Records
A Compilation of Information on the Paintings by Amedeo Modigliani.
Tap this photo to see some of our library.
Amedeo Modigliani
7/12/1884 – 1/20/1920
Modigliani was a gifted artist whose works later set auction records for modern art. Despite his legendary Bohemian lifestyle and short lifespan, he produced a considerable œuvre. Unfortunately, nobody kept adequate records of his paintings, not even his dealers. Yet records do indeed exist… they were scattered over the decades among several hundred worldwide exhibitions, auctions and countless news articles.
One hundred years after Modigliani’s passing there is still no comprehensive catalogue raisonné. Of the nine authors1 who worked on one, five did publish, yet none met accepted best practice standards2. Today’s art market still relies on the 50 year old Ceroni version, despite consensus that it was overly conservative. He listed only 338 paintings yet other catalog authors add approximately 200 more. Ceroni only considered paintings first hand without traveling to continents where they hung. Had he studied early exhibition catalogs, he would have realized that many paintings cannot be accounted for with his catalog. Those gaps cannot be explained away as fakes back when the values of the paintings were still too low to entice forgers.
It is true that many forgeries entered the market after values eventually exploded. But that problem is greatly exaggerated because the vast majority of fakes are quite obvious. A much bigger problem is that too many genuine paintings are unfairly ignored as possible fakes because Ceroni missed them.
Thankfully there have been recent advances in scientific analysis in conjunction with exhibitions3. Those discoveries could help decide authenticity. But what of all the owners of paintings unfairly passed over or nearly forgotten? They never enjoyed the attention of museum curators. For all those paintings binoculars might be better suited than microscopes at reaching the truth.
Modi Records has invested years of effort and expense harvesting and organizing information from thousands of sources into a database system linked to images. Multiple painting attributes or provenance details can be searched to make findings that would be next to impossible otherwise. The breadth and accuracy continues to increase, akin to a puzzle becoming easier as more pieces fit in.
Whether you are an owner of an obscure painting seeking provenance, an auctioneer compiling history for a catalog, or possibly even an expert working on Modigliani’s œuvre, Modi Records may well prove indispensable.
Modi Records welcomes the challenge to demonstrate its potential. Images of paintings submitted will receive a summary report.
Statistics
1,030
Total4 images of paintings5 found
971
Those with dimensions, owners, auctions, exhibitions & publication history
1,437
Exhibitions of drawings, paintings or sculptures
1,143
Those confirmed to include at least one painting
694
Those in which paintings were identified from descriptions
1,270
Auctions of all drawings, paintings or sculptures
466
Those in which at least one painting was known to be included
372
Those in which the paintings were identified
946
Book titles compiled from various bibliographies of the artist
505
Those in which images and/or relevant info was captured
124
Books in the Modi Records collection
933
Magazine articles covering the artist
364
Those in which images and/or relevant info was captured
328
Paintings that have been identified from Pfannstiel 1956 descriptions
18
Number of art libraries visited in USA, France and UK to build collection
2 See Guidelines for Compiling a Catalogue Raisonné, May 2014.
3 See Burlington Magazine, March 2018 and Modigliani Up Close, Barnes Foundation, Oct. 2022.
4 Includes hundreds of forgeries which turn up frequently in important exhibitions, auctions and collections. Details of forgeries are crucial for spotting where their descriptions cloud the history of authentic works. Reaching a true total of authentic works can only be achieved by further scrutiny of presumed forgeries.
5 Includes watercolors and gouaches occasionally regarded as drawings. A precedent for their inclusion was set by Ceroni catalog #s 34, 41, 84 & 85 and Patani #s 87, 88, 105 & 169, some being monochrome outlines akin to drawings. Conversely, most watercolors and gouaches were colorful. Excluding them merely for not being oils poses classification confusion. Monochrome brushed works in ink or sepia form a clearer distinction as drawings and were excluded.
Sample Images
A snapshot of one of our extensive research spreadsheets.
The 338 Modigliani paintings in Ceroni 1970 catalogue raisonné.
Modigliani paintings not in Ceroni that other experts list.
Some of the Modigliani forgers.
Background
In 2012 a signed Modigliani oil surfaced from an estate where it had languished for 42 years. Laboratory examination results were positive but no further provenance was known. To solve such a mystery, the only choice was to keep searching libraries until some record turned up. One catalogue raisonné description matched but had no image. Discrepancies over the artist’s œuvre were obvious.
The immense investment in research bore a risk of being futile. Thus, records of other Modiglianis found along the way were organized for potential future value. The all-encompassing search grew exponentially and resulted in many unanticipated important discoveries.
Ten years later, the remaining places to check are few and less significant. The time has finally arrived to shift attention to ways this extensive accumulation of spreadsheet data can be utilized.
Members of: IFAR, CRSA & CAA.