Provenance

Bing et Cie.

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Shown from the lap up, a woman with peach-colored skin sits leaning sideways against the back of a wooden chair with her head tilted to our left on her long neck in this vertical, stylized portrait. The painting is done mostly with areas of mottled color outlined in delicate black lines. The top of her head and her left elbow, on our right, are slightly cut off by the edges of the canvas. Her copper-red hair is parted in the middle and puffs down and around her hears. Her elongated oval face and delicate features are simply drawn. Pencil-thin, nearly straight, grayish eyebrows float above almond-shaped eyes entirely filled in with black. A faint gray line forms her elongated nose. Her small rose pink, pursed lips are slightly darker than the faint blush on her cheeks. Her jet-black, long-sleeved dress has a high waist and a wide, diaphanous gray collar at the rounded neckline. Her left elbow, on our right, drapes over the top of the spindles making up the back of the chair so her hand rests near the gray collar. Her other arm rests by her side. The background is a foggy swirl of sage green and elephant gray. Two faint, thin, parallel, horizontal gray lines that run across the background may suggest a baseboard.
Amedeo Modigliani, Woman with Red Hair, 1917, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.176

Woman with Red Hair

Amedeo Modigliani · 1917 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.176

Shown from the knees up, a woman with peach-colored skin and dark hair sits facing us and holding a baby in this stylized, vertical portrait painting. The woman’s features are elongated and simplified, and the nearly geometric forms are outlined with gray. Loose brushstrokes are visible throughout, creating a textured, mottled effect. The woman’s long, thin face comes to a point at her chin, and her brown hair is pulled back on either side of her forehead. She has pale blue eyes, an exaggeratedly long nose, noticeably flushed cheeks, and her coral-pink, bow lips are closed. Her white blouse has a wide, tomato-red, squared collar that lies over her shoulders, and a thin, light blue scarf drapes around her neck and down her chest. Her long, full skirt is blended shades of violet purple and sky blue. The woman’s hands are clasped around a baby wrapped in a navy-blue blanket. The baby’s head is covered with a long pink cap with black and white bands at each end. The woman casts a narrow shadow against the gray wall behind her. Bands of elephant gray, black, and brown behind her across the bottom of the composition suggest an abstracted bench or seat she sits on. The artist signed the work in dark letters near the upper left corner: “Modigliani.”
Amedeo Modigliani, Roma Woman with Baby, 1919, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.174

Roma Woman with Baby

Amedeo Modigliani · 1919 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.174

This painting is a portrait showing a man from the chest up. The man's facial features are flattened and simplified, and he has pale skin with slightly blushing cheeks, narrow blue eyes, thin, arched eyebrows, a blond mustache, and short, light brown hair. Lines on the bridge of his nose and under his left eye suggest a pair of barely visible glasses. He is wearing a black garment with round tan patterns and a bright blue scarf. The background is mostly gray with a vertical stripe of brown on the right side. The brushstrokes are visible in the painting, especially those in the background. There is a signature on the top, near the top right corner.
Amedeo Modigliani, Léon Bakst, 1917, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.173

Léon Bakst

Amedeo Modigliani · 1917 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.173

This painting is a portrait of a person standing with their legs slightly bent and their hands on their hips, looking towards us. Their facial features are abstract, with pale orange skin, prominent ears, arched eyebrows, a pointed chin, and slightly pursed lips. The person has short dark hair and is wearing a red vest over a white shirt with a high collar, black sleeves, and black pants. The background is a deep blue. The brushstrokes, especially those in the background, are thick and visible.
Chaim Soutine, Portrait of a Boy, 1928, oil on canvas, Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.216

Portrait of a Boy

Chaim Soutine · 1928 · oil on canvas ·  Accession ID  1963.10.216

Bibliography

1996

  • Gautherie-Kampa, Annette. Café du Dôme: Deutsche Maler in Paris 1903-1914. Exh. cat., Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Städtische Galerie Würzburg, Kunsthalle Darmstadt, Städtische Galerie Haus Coburg, 1996-1997:30.