Amedeo Modigliani

Paul Guillaume, Paris
Chester H. Johnson Galleries, Chicago (sold: American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, Inc., November 14, 1934, lot 67)
George Gershwin, New York (acquired at the above sale)
Mr. & Mrs. Ira Gershwin, Beverly Hills (by descent from the above)
The Eliot Corday Foundation and the Ira and Leonore Gershwin Philanthropic Trust (sold: Sotheby's New York, November 11, 1999, lot 135)
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner

New York, The Museum of Modern Art, 1936
Boston, The Museum of Fine Arts; Los Angeles, County Museum of Art, Modigliani, paintings and drawings, 1961, no. 13

Arthur Pfannstiel, Catalogue présumé de l'oeuvre de Modigliani, Paris, 1929, p. 17 (titled Le Beau Major)
Arthur Pfannstiel, Modigliani et son oeuvre, étude critique et catalogue raisonné, Paris, 1956, no. 119, listed
Ambrogio Ceroni, Amedeo Modigliani, dessins et sculptures, Milan, 1965, no. 184, illustrated
J. Lanthermann, Modigliani, 1884-1920-catalogue raisonné, sa vie, son oeuvre complet, son art, Barcelona, 1970, no. 200, illustrated p. 213
Ambrogio Ceroni and Françoise Cachin, Tout l'oeuvre peint de Modigliani, Paris, 1972, no. 183, illustrated
Christian Parisot, Modigliani, catalogue raisonné, peintures, dessins, aquarelles, vol. II, Livorno, 1991, no. 9/1917, illustrated p. 145
Osvaldo Patani, Amedeo Modigliani, catalogo generale, Milan, 1991, no. 189, illustrated p. 200

Modigliani's Portrait du Docteur Devaraigne, which was completed in 1917, exists in two versions.   Both of these pictures are of the same date and size and are almost identical in composition  The present work is the first version of the two, and the second is in the Evergreen House Collection in Baltimore.  In constrast to the second version, the present picture is characterized by greater constrast in the background and is rendered with a lighter, looser brushstroke.  The technique gives the Doctor, who Ambrogio Ceroni suggests is a friend of Modigliani, a more affable, approachable appearance.

This picture was completed in 1917, the last year of World War I.  Appropriately, Modigliani has depicted the sitter in an officer's military uniform, perhaps revealing the an aspect of the Doctor's occupation during this time.  References to militarism and the war were a prevelant part of French culture during this era.  It was not uncommon for Doctors, like Devaraigne, to be conscripted or to help the wounded of the battlefields.  This portrait, although a representation of his friend, is also a poignant sign of the times and a reminder of the many hats one is often required to wear during periods of national crisis.

Amedeo Modigliani is synonymous with portraiture, and Portrait du Docteur Devaraigne is a quintessential example of the artist's expression.  Painted in 1917, the present work depicts the sitter at close range, and the intimacy of the presentation invites us to consider the nuances of his face.  The curled moustache and neatly-kept hair befit the noble character of the man, whom we know, according to the title, is a professional.  As is characteristic of many of the artist's portraits, the figure is rendered with almond-shaped eyes, a long nose, and button mouth -- features which are unique to the artist's work. 

After it was completed, this work was acquired by Modigliani's first dealer, Paul Guillaume.  It was later taken to the United States and sold at auction in 1934 to the legendary American composor, George Gerwshin, and eventually inherited by his brother, Ira.  George and Ira Gershwin were among the best-known songwriters of the 1920s and 1930s, and their musical compositions inspired a generation of Americans during and after the Great Depression.  The presence of this picture in their collection provides an insight to the aesthetic taste of two men who were among the most important composers of popular music in the 20th century.