A seemingly anonymous painting bought
by an Italian collector in a French flea market 15 years ago has
now been attributed to early 20th century Modernist bohemian
master Amedeo Modigliani, Il Resto del Carlino newspaper
reported Friday.
The now-priceless painting was bought by an entrepreneur and
collector from the Marche birthplace of poet Giacomo Leopardi,
Recanati, Paolo Guzzini.
The work, without a signature, had a stamp on the back belonging
to a shop that supplied artists in Montmartre at the beginning
of the twentieth century.
This element advised the owner of the painting to further
research the author, and the Modigliani archive in Rome
confirmed the attribution to the artist from Livorno, so much so
that it was published in the new and sixth volume of the
Modigliani archive.
The painting, according to this attribution, is believed to
depict Mario Cavalieri, a friend of Modigliani's whom he met in
Venice and who hosted him during his young adulthood.
Modigliani, who died of illness at only 35 years old, began his
career by portraying friends and acquaintances.
The portrait could therefore be one of the Tuscan maestro's
first works created after his arrival in Paris.
The painting is now part of Guzzini's private collection.
Modigliani's works fetch millions of dollars on the auction
network, and his trademark long-necked female portraits are
especially prized.
Johnny Depp recently made a film on Modigliani's tempestuous
drug and alcohol fuelled life and death from tubucular
meningitis on January 24, 1920.
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