Monday, June 30, 2008

MODIGLIANI : PORTRAIT OF MOISE KISLING

Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (1884-1920) was an Italian artist born in Livorno of Jewish heritage, practicing both painting and sculpture who pursued his career for the most part in France. There he developed a unique style : today his graceful portraits and lush nudes at once evoke his name, but during his brief career few apart from his fellow artists were aware of his gifts. Modigliani had to struggle against poverty and chronic ill health, dying of tuberculosis and excesses of drink and drugs at the age of 35.

This portrait of the austo-hungarian painter Moise Kisling (born in Krakow in 1891- deceased in France in 1953) was made in 1915 and is an oil on canvas.

It was part of the Impressionists collection of Leo Rogers which was sold in 1972 on auction for a total of $2.2 million, the highlight being Portrait of Moise Kisling which went for 100,000 Gns ($273,000) to the Pinacoteca in Milan, Italy

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