Artwork
Flower Vendor
Flower Vendor is an oil painting by Amedeo Modigliani. It dates from 1919 and is held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting Flower Vendor (1919) shows a young woman seated before a doorway, dressed in black and holding a bouquet, presenting her as a flower vendor.
The painting Flower Vendor (1919) shows a young woman seated before a doorway, dressed in black and holding a bouquet, presenting her as a flower vendor. Modigliani's portrait captures the sitter's modest occupation, turning a street vendor into a dignified subject. The work is rendered in oil on canvas, measuring 116.8 × 73.7 cm, and belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, having entered the collection through the bequest of Florene May Schoenborn in 1995.
By elevating a humble flower seller to the realm of fine art, the image suggests both the fleeting nature of commerce and the intimate presence of women in urban spaces.
Technique & Style
Created in 1919, Flower Vendor is an oil painting executed on canvas support. The work measures 116.8 cm in height and 73.7 cm in width, adopting a vertical format typical of Modigliani's portraiture. Stylistically, the piece depicts a young woman dressed in black seated before doors, representing a flower vendor selling bouquets.
The handling of the oil medium emphasizes the elongated, stylized features characteristic of the artist's late period, focusing on the sitter's presence within a simplified architectural setting.
History & Provenance
Flower Vendor was painted by Amedeo Modigliani in 1919, executed in oil on canvas as a vertical portrait of a young woman in black seated before doors, shown selling bouquets. The work was once owned by Florene May Schoenborn, who bequeathed it in 1995, after which it entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, where it remains. Specific exhibition records are not detailed in the available sources.
Overview
Amedeo Modigliani's Flower Vendor, an oil painting from 1919, presents a portrait of a woman. This work exemplifies the artist's distinctive approach to figuration, characterized by elongated forms and a contemplative mood. The painting is currently held within the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, representing a late example of Modigliani's career.
Context
An Italian painter and sculptor, Modigliani became a prominent figure in the École de Paris after relocating to the city in 1906. His interactions with contemporaries like Pablo Picasso and Constantin Brâncuși influenced his artistic development. This period in Paris was crucial for the evolution of his unique portraiture, which synthesized various modern art currents into a highly personal and recognizable style.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (US: ; Italian: ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor of the École de Paris who worked mainly in France.
