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A nude woman with long, dark brown hair and peach-colored skin reclines against a denim-blue cushion in this stylized, horizontal painting. The painting is done mostly with areas of mottled color outlined in delicate black lines. Shown from the knees up, the woman lies with her legs to our right, and her hips tipped forward so her body faces us. She looks at us with dark, almond-shaped eyes under thin, arched brows. Bangs gather across her forehead, and her dark hair seems to be pulled back. Her head is tipped to our right, and she has an upturned nose, smooth cheeks, a pointed chin, and her smiling coral-red lips are closed. She holds the back of her left hand to her cheek and props herself up on her other elbow. Her rounded breasts have rust orange-colored nipples, and the contours of her body are smooth. There is a patch of dark hair at her groin, and her legs are pressed together. The blue pillow she rests on overlaps a white cloth or second pillow. The rest of the background is painted a terracotta brown with loose brushstrokes, so the setting is undefined. The artist signed the painting in dark letters in the upper right corner: “modigliani.”

Amedeo Modigliani

Nude on a Blue Cushion, 1917

East Building, Ground Level — Gallery 103-A

Medium

oil on linen

Dimensions

overall: 65.4 x 100.9 cm (25 3/4 x 39 3/4 in.)

framed: 84.7 x 120 cm (33 3/8 x 47 1/4 in.)

Credit Line

Chester Dale Collection

Accession Number

1963.10.46

Artists / Makers

Amedeo Modigliani (artist) Italian, 1884 - 1920

Image Use

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Inscription

upper right: modigliani

Provenance

Purchased 1917 by (Paul Guillaume [1891-1934], Paris);[1] sold April 1928 to Chester Dale [1883-1962], New York; bequest 1963 to NGA.

[1] Arthur Pfannstiel, Modigliani et Son Oeuvre, Paris, 1956, gave the provenance as "Hist: Collection L. Zborowski, Paris," although earlier the same author, in his Modigliani, Paris, 1929, gave the provenance as Guillaume. According to Chester Dale papers in NGA curatorial files, Guillaume bought the painting directly from Modigliani.

Associated Names

Dale, Chester
Guillaume, Paul

Exhibition History

1928: Loan Exhibition of Modern French Art from the Chester Dale Collection for the Benefit of the French Hospital of New York, Wildenstein Galleries, 1928, no. 30, as Femme Nue.

1931: Amedeo Modigliani: Retrospective Exhibition of Paintings, Demotte, Inc., New York, 1931, no. 25, as Nu Etendu.

1933: Modigliani, Palais de Beaux Arts, Brussels, 1933, no. 75, repro., as Nu.

1934: Modigliani, Kunsthalle, Basel, 1934, no. 65, as Nu.

1943: Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1943-1951, unnumbered cat., repro.

1983: Modigliani: An Anniversary Exhibition, J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu; Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1983-1984, unnumbered brochure [exhibited in Washington only].

2010: From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, National Gallery of Art, Washington, January 2010-January 2012, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

Bibliography

1928: "Selections from the Chester Dale Collection." Art News 27, no. 3 (20 October 1928): 1+, repro.

1929: Dale, Maud. Before Manet to Modigliani from the Chester Dale Collection. New York, 1929: no. 101, repro., as Nude.

1939: Slocombe, George. Rebels of Art, Manet to Matisse. New York, 1939:plate 27.

1943: Paintings from the Chester Dale Collection. Philadelphia, 1943:, unpaginated, repro.

1956: Pfannstiel, Arthur. Modigliani et son Oeuvre. Paris, 1956: no. 153, as Nu appuye sur le Bras Droit.

1965: Ceroni, Ambrogio. Amedeo Modigliani: Dessins et Sculptures, avec suite du catalogue illustré des peintures. Milan, 1965: no. 196, repro.

1965: Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 91.

1965: Twentieth Century French Paintings & Sculpture of the French School in the Chester Dale Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965 (rev. ed.): 61, repro.

1968: National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 79, repro.

1970: Ceroni, Ambrogio, and Leone Piccioni. I dipinti di Modigliani. Milan, 1970: no. 146, repro.

1970: Lanthemann, Joseph. Modigliani 1884-1920. Catalogue raisonné. Barcelona, 1970: 115, no. 125, repro., as Nu.

1972: Ceroni, Ambrogio, and Françoise Cachin. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Modigliani. Translated by Simone Darses. Paris, 1972: no. 146, repro.

1975: European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 236, repro.

1984: Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 586, no. 897, color repro.

1985: European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 272, rspro.

1991: Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art: A Gift to the Nation. New York, 1991: 245, repro.

1991: Parisot, Christian. Modigliani Catalogue Raisonné. Volume 2: Peintures Dessins AquarellesI. Livorno, 1991: no. 28/1916, repro.

2011: Secrest, Meryle. Modigliani: A Life. New York, 2011: 6.