Publications

Restellini announces a new catalogue raisonné of Modigliani

At the Frankfurter Buchmesse distributed by Yale University Press, the six-volume work including 100 new authenticated works was presented

by Anna Silvia Barrilà and Marilena Pirrelli

Amedeo Modigliani, «Jeune fille aux macarons (Giovane donna con capelli a crocchia)», 1918. Courtesy Pace Gallery

4' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

4' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

Erano anni che si attendeva, annunciato più volte, ora verrà presentato alla Frankfurter Buchmesse dal 15 al 19 ottobre. E’ il catalogo ragionato di Amedeo Modigliani a firma di Marc Restellini, distribuito dalla Yale University Press nel marzo 2026. Grazie anche alla collaborazione dell’Istitut Restellini la Pace Gallery presenterà una mostra sull’artista a New York nel 2027 con i nuovi lavori catalogati, compresi i prestiti di istituzioni internazionali. L’evento verrà preannunciato anche ad Art Basel Paris, dove nello stand Pace esporrà il dipinto di Modigliani del 1918 «Jeune fille aux macarons» (Giovane donna con i chignon laterali), incluso nel nuovo Catalogo ragionato; sempre il prossimo anno la galleria, inoltre, organizzerà una serie di simposi su Modigliani in collaborazione con l’Institut Restell

The work after the Ceroni

La pubblicazione dello storico dell’arte e studioso di Modigliani sul corpo dei dipinti è il risultato di oltre 30 anni di ricerca condotta in collaborazione con un team internazionale di ricercatori e scienziati. Il catalogo ragionato Modigliani in sei volumi comprende circa 100 opere recentemente autenticate, metà delle quali si trovano nelle collezioni dei musei di tutto il mondo. In vista della sua uscita mondiale nel 2026, il 24 ottobre Restellini parteciperà a un convegno a Parigi — organizzato da Drouot in collaborazione con la Société Internationale des Catalogs Raisonnés (CRIS), dove parlerà del nuovo catalogo ragionato. La nuova pubblicazione ha l’ambizione di superare il Ceroni, cioè il catalogo scritto da Ambrogio Ceroni su Modigliani composto da due volumi, in tutto 337 opere, - il primo dedicato ai dipinti (1958) e il secondo ai disegni e sculture (1965) che ancora oggi rappresenta il riferimento per gli studiosi e per

Loading...

In an artist's market that is not exactly transparent - how can we not remember the exhibition in 2017 that ended up under seizure at the Palazzo Ducale in Genoa and then in court that ended with the acquittal of all the defendants in the fraud trial in June 2023, because although some works were judged to be fake, it was established that there was no intention to defraud buyers - the new catalogue should bring clarity to many works that have meanwhile remained suspended because they were not in the Ceroni but had all the conditions to be attributed.

The Leghorn master's archivistChristian Parisot also returned to the scene at the end of last year with the publication of the "Biographie de Amedeo Modigliani - Catalogue Raisonnè , Tomo VI" announced in San Marino and to be presented at the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome on 30 October. The "Catalogue Raisonnè" at the end of the volume follows those drawn up by Pfannstiel in 1929, 1954 and 1956, by Ceroni in 1958, 1965 and 1972, by Lanthemann in 1970, by Patani in 1994 and 2001, and by the same archivist Parisot in 1990 and 2012. The "Catalogue Raisonnè" at the end of the year is a follow up to those drawn up by Pfannstiel in 1929, 1954 and 1956, by Ceroni in 1958, 1965 and 1972, by Lanthemann in 1970, by Patani in 1994 and 2001, and by Parisot, the archivist himself in 1990 and 2012

 In short, many scholars have written about Modigliani, but precisely because of the artist's stature, his early death and the debated legacy of his studio, a shadow remains over who really holds the cards to authenticate his work.

Marc Restellini

The Science of Restellini

To carry out this monumental project, Restellini made use of scientific and technological instruments, including spectrometry, carbon 14, infrared and X-ray images, which were not available when the Italian scholar Ambrogio Ceroni produced his Modigliani, Catalogue raisonné between 1958 and 1970. Through scientific, stylistic and documentary analyses, Restellini authenticated around 100 works by Modigliani, half of which were already in important museum collections, and were not present in Ceroni's volumes. Even Restellini excluded 15 works that were previously in Ceroni's catalogue raisonné, because they did not meet Restellini's authentication criteria.

The first volume of Restellini's catalogue raisonné will provide a full explanation of his authentication methodology and volume two provides a complete chronology of Modigliani's life and work. Volumes three to five contain Modigliani's paintings, each represented by a full-page reproduction accompanied by full provenance, exhibition history and bibliography. The sixth volume includes all the indexes to the data used in the catalogue, as well as a technical and iconographic index.

Restellini thanked Marc Glimcher and hoped that "this collaboration will sustain the catalogue raisonné and that its methodology will become the standard for future publications". "Restellini's catalogue raisonné," Glimcher confirmed, "is not only the definitive publication on the artist, but also sets a new standard for all catalogue raisonnés. His innovative methodology and pioneering use of science and technology as part of this ten-year project involving dozens of experts worldwide has led to the authentication of a total of 424 of the artist's works".

Copyright reserved ©
Loading...

Brand connect

Loading...

Newsletter

Notizie e approfondimenti sugli avvenimenti politici, economici e finanziari.

Iscriviti