Major work by Modigliani to lead Sotheby's Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in New York - 2 November 2010
Sotheby’s autumn Evening Sale of Impressionist & Modern Art in New York will be led by Amedeo Modigliani’s Nu assis sur un divan (La Belle Romaine), the finest painting by the artist to appear at auction in recent years (est. in excess of $40 million). La Belle Romaine ranks among the definitive nudes in the history of Western art, continuing in the tradition of Botticelli's Venus, Velazquez's Rokeby Venus, Ingres' Baigneuse turque and Manet's Olympia. The canvas is from Modigliani’s most important series of nudes, all painted circa 1917. Seven of the works caused a sensation upon their début in Paris that year at the Galerie Berthe Weill, attracting a crowd as well as the local police, who temporarily shut down the exhibition. The depiction of contemporary women, removed from any allegorical or historical narrative and exuding a confident sensuality, was a new and shocking experience.
The work and artist both have a distinguished history at Sotheby’s. La Belle Romaine last appeared on the market in 1999, when it sold at Sotheby’s New York for $16.8 million, a world record price for any work by Modigliani at the time. In addition, Sotheby’s set the current record for a painting by Modigliani in 2004 with the sale of Jeanne Hébuterne (devant une porte) for $31.4 million. The painting is currently on view in Hong Kong and will be shown in London at the beginning of next week before returning to New York for exhibition and sale.
