To the advantage of modern art collectors, contemporary methods of analysis and attribution mean that paintings can be assessed for authenticity with greater accuracy than ever before. These technologies were recently called upon when a previously unknown portrait by Amedeo Modigliani of his muse, Jeanne Hébuterne, was examined and authenticated at the behest of the Court of Venice following several years of study.
Sourced from a private collection and presented on a wooden panel and measuring 27.5 x 19.2 cm, the artwork is considered to be a preparatory study for the painting’s larger twin, a portrait of Hébuterne held by the Met Museum in New York. In addition to detailed analysis of the painting’s material and stylistic composition, Judicial Graphologist Dr. Milena Bellato separately authenticated a note inscribed on the reverse of the painting as the handwriting of Modigliani’s friend and prominent art dealer Léopold Zborowski.
Unraveling the Mystery of Modigliani
Italian sculptor and painter Amedeo Modigliani remains one of the art world’s greatest enigmas, not because his life is considered a mystery, but rather because the true number and location of many of his creations continue to allude historians. Over the years, several attempts have been made to complete a Catalogue Raisonné for the artist detailing every work produced. However, after a century’s worth of speculation around lost paintings and forgeries, a tantalizing question mark always remains: is another authentic Modigliani about to be unearthed?
Born to Jewish parents on July 12, 1884, in the Tuscan port city of Livorno, Italy, Modigliani moved to France at the age of 21 with the dream of following in the creative footsteps of his recently deceased hero, Paul Cézanne. Drawn to the bohemian Parisian districts of Montmartre and then Montparnasse, Modigliani would spend the next decades in constant and prolific creation alongside artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Constantin Brancusi.
Coming full circle in the latter years of his career, Modigliani did indeed emulate his idol Cézanne—less so in style but more in subject matter—by repeatedly portraying his muse and lover in various positions and attitudes. Having met Hébuterne, a striking young woman in possession of her own artistic talent, in 1916, Modigliani would paint her portrait at least twenty times and perhaps many more before his death in 1920.
Modern Methods of Art Authentication
Where art authentication once relied on stylistic examination and limited material analysis, today’s experts draw on resources such as Raman microscopy which provides a molecular fingerprint of the pigments, varnishes, and binders present within a composition. In this instance, the newly unearthed Modigliani portrait was subjected to such study by Professor Paolo Zannini of the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.
Further material analyses of the portrait were provided by Dr. Thierry Radelet at his specialist laboratory in Torino and Professor Paolo Bensi at the Department of Architectural Sciences University of Genoa. Meanwhile, stylistic examination was carried out internationally by experts including art critic and historian Professor Saverio Simi de Burgis of the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice.
A final ruling affirming authentication was made by Judge Dr. Fabio Doro of the Court of Venice on the basis of the broad and detailed body of evidence presented. This exciting revelation introduces a new artwork to any future Catalogue Raisonné for Modigliani, while also raising hope for those dreaming that they may too one day stumble upon an undiscovered artwork by one of creatives of the early 20th century in the dusty back corner of a Parisian or Venetian antique shop.
