Portrait of Paresce (Primary Title)
Amedeo Modigliani, Italian, 1884 - 1920 (Artist)
Modigliani left his native Italy at age twenty-two for Paris, where he gradually developed a distinctive style with a primary focus on the human figure. Active as a draftsman, painter, and sculptor, he became a master of psychologically penetrating portraiture and created a number of portraits of friends and associates during his short career. Renato (René) Paresce was also an Italian émigré artist in Paris. This portrait is one of two known sketches Modigliani made of his friend. The energetic contour lines increase the sense of casual but lively interaction. The empty eyes, another signature of Modigliani’s portraiture, paradoxically create psychological depth by suggesting an inward gaze as Paresce sits, pipe in hand and lost in thought.
Signed in pencil, lower right: "modigliani"
"PARESCE" written in pencil across upper left corner of drawing; "1898" written in pencil on verso
T. Catesby Jones Collection
"Matisse, Picasso, and Modern Art in Paris: The T. Catesby Jones Collections at VMFA and the University of Virginia Art Museum," VMFA Statewide Exhibition, UVA, Charlottesville, January 30 - April 24, 2009; Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester, August 15 - November 29, 2009; William King Regional Art Center, Abingdon, December 11, 2009 - February 21, 2010
“Works on Paper,” Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, August 30 – October 2, 1977
"Selections from the T. Catesby Jones Collection," Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, November 15 - December 29, 1974
“The Human Figure in Art,” Art-mobile, February 1967 – January 1968
"Modigliani: Paintings and Drawings," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Los Angeles County Museum, January 19 - April 30, 1961
Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Ashland, Virginia, September 21 - October 26, 1959
Lynchburg Fine Art Center, February 27 – March 12, 1956
“Le Fin de Siecle,” Birmingham Museum of Art, October 5 – November 1, 1952
“Works on Paper,” Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, August 30 – October 2, 1977
"Selections from the T. Catesby Jones Collection," Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, November 15 - December 29, 1974
“The Human Figure in Art,” Art-mobile, February 1967 – January 1968
"Modigliani: Paintings and Drawings," Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and Los Angeles County Museum, January 19 - April 30, 1961
Randolph-Macon Woman's College, Ashland, Virginia, September 21 - October 26, 1959
Lynchburg Fine Art Center, February 27 – March 12, 1956
“Le Fin de Siecle,” Birmingham Museum of Art, October 5 – November 1, 1952
Image released via Creative Commons CC-BY-NC
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